The Depth of Blue
by GinIchimaruDidNothingWrong
Summary: The time passes in Hueco Mundo just as it does in the world of the living, but Orihime seems to be spending a lot of that time with the last person anyone would expect the sweet girl to associate with- murderous Sixth Espada, Grimmjow Jaggerjaquez. This is a small collection of one-shots from her time as Aizen Sosuke's prisoner and how she was saved by a ferocious panther.
1. Chapter 1

**Orange and Blue: Complementary Hues**

-I rated this T because Grimmjow cusses-

-I do not own Bleach or any of the characters.-

((ovovovovovovovovovo- this means a shift in time and story by the way, I'm still trying to figure out how to work that out but until then, just know what this weird thing is))

**ovovovovovovovovovo**

She hated to admit it, but Orihime Inoue couldn't stop staring. She should have been terrified out of her mind, but the intensity of his blazing eyes, the calculated mess of his silken hair, the razor edge of his eternally hardset jaw took her breath away. She never knew that blue could so closely resemble orange.

Of course, she would never, ever, EVER mention this epiphany aloud for anyone to hear; especially _him. _She knew that if she ever told Grimmjow Jaggerjaquez that he resembled his most despised arch rival, Ichigo Kurosaki, that her blood and brains would stain the sterile white walls of her Hueco Mundo prison in the blink of an eye. He would skewer her so fast on his regenerated arm that she would have no idea how she perished.

"What the hell are you staring at, woman?"

The feral rumble of Grimmjow's voice sent a spear of electricity through Orihime's mind. She didn't realize she was analyzing him so openly, and around all of the other Espada on top of that. '_How embarrassing'_ she mentally chastised herself as her face blazed red.

She proceeded to mumble like an idiot. Her eyes darted around to find anything else to look at but him, causing Grimmjow to quirk an annoyed left eyebrow at her pathetic attempts of explaining her behavior.

"Got a little crush do we, Princess?" Gin Ichimaru purred, earning a vicious glare from the Sixth Espada and a horrified squeak from Orihime.

"Oh n-no Captain- I mean Ichimaru-sama! I'm j-" The frantic waving of Orihime's protesting hands and her desperate pleas were cut off as Aizen cleared his throat and threateningly flared his spiritual pressure to gain the attention of all present around his meeting table.

"Now that Grimmjow and Miss Inoue are finished entertaining us all with their apparent secret love, we may begin this briefing."

If it was possible, Orihime's face became an even deeper shade of scarlet at Aizen's calm proclamation. She shifted her wide-eyed glance nervously across the table to her worst nightmare. Grimmjow's blue eyes seemed to burn her alive with their ferocity, daring her to say a word or make a move. If they could shoot cero out of them, she wouldn't have a chance at survival. She felt like a gazelle trapped by a cheetah. Her heart raced in it's desperate attempt to pump blood to her dangerously light head.

'_Do it again and...' _he silently mouthed at her before motioning to his eye with his hand, pretending to gouge it out. His hands were that of a normal human man, large and tanned, but she knew he could rip her eyeballs out with ease and pleasure. Immediately, she snapped her gaze to the head of the table, tearing her eyes away from his sincere warning faster than she knew possible. She wasn't aware of what this meeting was about or why she was invited, but it couldn't end fast enough.

**ovovovovovovovovovo**

'_Where is Ulquiorra…?' _Orihime wondered to herself as the usual time her second meal was typically delivered slipped past, hour by hour. She checked her watch, the only way she could keep track of time due to the eternal night of her new residence. At this point, he was three hours late and she was beginning to feel especially hungry. She placed herself down on the floor and wrapped herself in the solitary blanket offered to her. Orihime always got weirdly cold when she became hungry.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as her door slammed open.

"Come with me." It was him.

Her back was to the door but she didn't waste a moment placing that animalistic drawl with Grimmjow. Her stomach held hands with her heart as she slowly shifted her eyes to glance behind her. He was stalking up to her small form, as she had anticipated. When he reached her spot on the floor in front of the window, he snatched her arm and yanked her to her feet, nearly ripping her shoulder out of the socket. She whimpered at the pain as hot tears pricked her eyes and her blanket fell limp to the floor.

"Grimmjow please-" She couldn't finish her plea for gentleness before he began to forcibly escort her out the door and down the hallway. One aspect that reminded Orihime blue was not orange was Grimmjow's sheer size. He had to be at least 5 or 6 inches taller than Ichigo and probably had 30-40 more pounds of muscle on him. For each step Grimmjow took with those long legs of his, Orihime took two.

As she half-walked half-jogged beside him, his calloused hand tightly gripping her wrist, she realized it wasn't so much Grimmjow that frightened her. Sure, he was rage incarnate, stronger than she could ever fathom, and irrationally violent, but he was easy to read. Grimmjow never truly shocked her with his actions; his moods seemed to be decently predictable and on top of that, she knew he was more than just a brainless hunk of muscle. He had a head on those wide shoulders and he knew how to use it. He wouldn't seriously harm her as long as Aizen had control over the handsome Espada. He was intelligent enough to have at least that much of a sense of self-preservation.

What truly scared her in this situation was the new nickname the residents of Hueco Mundo gifted her after the scene she caused in the last meeting.

_Mrs. Jaggerjaquez._

Ulquiorra told her the other day that so far, approximately 23 lower-level arrancar had perished at Grimmjow's hand due to mentioning anything about their "secret love" or referring to her as Mrs. Jaggerjaquez. He would get away with his murderous rampage as well due to his victims being of no circumstance to Aizen. However, it didn't stop the Espada members from using the nickname. Apparently, even Gin had taken a liking to referring to Orihime as Grimmjow's wife. When the Sixth boldly attempted to "correct" Ichimaru on his infraction, he was swiftly thwarted by Aizen and his Spiritual Pressure Smackdown. Grimmjow could punish anyone he liked… as long as they were not ex-soul reapers or Espada.

Orihime knew she should keep her mouth shut. If she could just go where he wanted her to go and not press his buttons more than they were already pressed, she would make it to their destination and back to her room in one piece. Maybe.

"So Grimmjow, you and Mrs. Jaggerjaquez are finally back from the honeymoon?"

The grip on Orihime's fragile wrist tightened to an extreme extent. The feeling of her bones creaking beneath the pressure took her breath away. She gasped as she was forced to spin around with her blue-haired companion.

"Coyote, you bastard. Don't think I won't invert your knees just because you have a 1 on your weak-ass hand." Orihime's heart skipped a beat in the worst way at the venom in his voice. He wasn't yelling but the violence in his threat sent a shiver down her spine all the same.

"Calm yourself, Sexta. You're making your mate nervous, can't you tell?" The smirk on Starrk's gentle face made Orihime's tummy flip in anxiety. She wondered if Grimmjow would make good on his promise right then and there. She was very unfamiliar with the First Espada. She didn't know what he was capable of and her insecurity caused her to subconsciously shrink behind Grimmjow's towering frame for even some semblance of protection.

"At least I'm not fucking a child. Lilynette's a little young for you, don't you think?" Grimmjow returned the smirk as Starrk's playful demeanor instantly switched to something dark and dreadful.

"We'll finish this later, Jaggerjaquez." The tall brunette ground out as he spun on his heel and stalked away.

"Oh, yes we will, Starrk. Yes we will." Grimmjow responded with malice to the First Espada's back, his smirk remaining as he turned himself and Orihime back around to continue their trek to wherever he was taking her. Speaking of…

"So… where are we going, Grimmjow?" She asked, internally cringing at the crack of her voice. She knew he could already sense her fear but she didn't want him to hear it too.

"To get you food, where else?" He spat, clearly not wanting to converse with the small girl in his grasp.

"But Ulquiorra-"

"He's dead." Grimmjow interrupted. Orihime's stomach dropped to her feet.

"What?" She rasped, her mind racing at the implications. Was Ulquiorra's death good or bad? Was she sad or relieved? How did it happen? Who did it? Where-

"I'm kidding, idiot. He's just gonna be out for a few days, meaning I'm your new babysitter. Aizen doesn't trust Nnoitra."

'_And yet he trusts you?' _Despite Orihime's misgivings about Grimmjow's trustworthiness, she blanched at the thought of being under the "protection" of the fifth espada. She decided Grimmjow's brash demeanor was much preferable to Nnoitra's slithery and slimy antics.

"Does Starrk really have a romantic relationship with a child?" Orihime couldn't believe the words that came out of her mouth. Her eyes widened and her face lost all it's color when she realized that question was now out in the air and she couldn't shove it back in her mouth. Did she seriously just ask Grimmjow if Coyote Starrk was a pedophile? Was she seriously attempting to spill some piping hot Hueco Mundo tea with the Sixth Espada?

She dared a look at his face and a strange, instant warmth filled her chest. Just like Ichigo when he was annoyed, Grimmjow's jaw locked and ticked in aggravation while his eyes rolled back into his skull and slowly shut. The similarity between them made her fiercely homesick for a split second.

"No. I only said it to get him to shut the fuck up. Now I want you to shut the fuck up as well. Got it, Princess?"

The warmth in Orihime's chest was gone in a flash as Grimmjow's familiar face said words to her that Ichigo would never say. She had to remember that no matter how painfully handsome he was and how intense his presence, Grimmjow was _not_ her childhood friend. Grimmjow was _not_ Ichigo Kurosaki. This cold blue was _not_ her warm orange.

**ovovovovovovovovovo**

"Pizza?" Orihime was baffled at the square box on the table. How did pizza make it to Hueco Mundo? Where did he get it?

"You think I know how to use an oven? Ulquiorra may be able to figure it out but I sure as hell don't cook." Grimmjow said as he pulled out a food cart. "Now, you can either eat it here or you can take it back to your room but I refuse to push the cart." '_Ah'_ Orihime mused. '_So that's why he brought me with him.' _

"I'll just eat it here. I kind of like being somewhere new." Okay, so the enormous kitchen of Hueco Mundo wasn't that interesting to look at. It was clear that only three people in the entirety of this compound used it and they were all ex-shinigami men. Ramen packages and boxes of tea lined the cabinet next to a coffee machine. Plates, bowls and cups were stacked neatly in open-faced shelves. There was an oven, a microwave, and a refrigerator- all stainless steel. It seemed like a kitchen that would be in a restaurant, sterile and plain as was the rest of Las Noches.

Orihime grabbed the large pizza box off the counter and allowed herself to be led into a dining room of sorts by Grimmjow. It was an empty room with white walls, dark stained-cement floors and overly-tall ceilings that featured overly-tall windows. Besides the enormous rectangular table placed in the middle lined by 6 chairs on each side, there were no other items in the endless expanse of space. Orihime wondered to herself how ridiculous she would look sitting alone here with a pizza, bathed in the ever present moonlight.

"I'm really confused though, Grimmjow. How did you get this pizza?" She dared to ask. As she lowered herself in one of the high-backed chairs placed at the table, he took a seat across from her.

"You don't seriously think that blonde haired asshole with the hat is the only one who can make gigai do you?" Orihime internally giggled at Grimmjow's explanation and was pleasantly surprised when he was generous enough to explain further.

"Ichimaru was able to somehow make arrangements for this… food to be prepared for you in the world of the living and I used a garganta to go get it from a strange shop. He gave me instructions on how to use the currency of your world but I still don't think I did it right. The person I gave the pieces of paper to tried to give me more paper back… I got mad and told him to keep his fucking paper. It smelled bad and I didn't want anymore. Why do you even use smelly paper to trade anyway?"

Orihime almost spit out the bite of the pepperoni pizza she was currently inhaling at the mention of Grimmjow trying to navigate the world of the living and not understanding the concept of getting change back. Money smelled bad? She knew it had a scent to it but of course, his sharp senses could probably pick up the smell of countless humans who had possessed the likely years old paper. The idea of what it must have smelled like gave her a quick wave of nausea. She was dying to ask him for a description however, instead of making him mad by asking more useless questions and ruining the decent mood he was in, she swallowed her laugh.

"He was trying to give you money back because you paid him with too much." She explained sweetly, trying to keep him in the conversation mood. She was enjoying his lively company. Ulquiorra never spoke to her unless he was giving her instructions or reprimands.

"I just figured he thought it smelled bad too and didn't want it either." Grimmjow grumbled, slouching in his usual relaxed way. He placed that razor sharp jaw on one of his strong hands as his somewhat childlike, electric blue eyes lazily locked with her own. '_He's not Ichigo, Orihime…. He is NOT Ichigo'_ she reminded herself, attempting to dismiss the butterflies currently fluttering around her stomach.

"He couldn't smell it like you could, Grimmjow. We humans don't have a sense of smell quite like yours." She laughed a little despite the heartbeat skip she experienced when he smirked back at her.

"You're right, Princess. You humans are so pathetic and weak. I can understand for you, since you're a woman, but that guy at the shop- I could have easily snapped him in two, even in that ridiculous fake body Gin forced me to wear." Grimmjow said thoughtfully, running his fingers over the bone fragment on his face as if by habit, clearly lost in thought.

For some inexplicable reason, his rant on human weakness sent Orihime into a spiral of despair at her situation. She subconsciously lowered her half-eaten slice of pizza back into the box as she realized that was the major difference between the seemingly similar Grimmjow and Ichigo. Grimmjow was near indestructible, a muscled fortress of strength and power transcending time. He was bred to kill, maim and destroy with absolute precision, whereas Ichigo was still a human. A young human, not yet 16. Grimmjow could be hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.

How? How could Ichigo survive this war with the arrancar? How could they overcome the insurmountable power and undeniable strength of these otherworldly creatures created for one purpose? A lump formed in her throat at the thought of their impending doom.

The source of that doom, or at least 1/10th of it, cleared his throat.

"Lost your appetite?" His eyes danced with mischief, knowing his words about the weakness of humans shook her to some degree.

"No actually, this pizza is delicious and I was so hungry! Thank you for getting it for me, I really appreciate it." She said, a little too enthusiastically. His eyes, once playful, darkened with confusion at her sudden mood swing but he didn't say anything.

"Grimmjow…" She continued, waiting for him to acknowledge her inquiry.

"Are you hungry?" She asked when he quirked a brow at her.

"Not for that." He responded apathetically, turning his head to stare thoughtfully at the wall on the far side of the room. She didn't understand what he meant and she didn't think she wanted to.

**ovovovovovovovovovo**

"What the hell are you wearing?" Grimmjow asked Orihime from his place at the open door to her room.

"It's what I was given to sleep in." She tried to force a small smile but like every night, her sleep attire left her shivering in the cold. A loose spaghetti strap tank top and tiny pair of matching shorts made of white silk with black trim flowed over her developing curves. Her arms covered her chest and clutched her arms in a hug, trying to generate some sort of heat as she stood by her bed, about to pull down the covers for her to slide in. She was surprised that Grimmjow had come back after his duties were complete. She had eaten her dinner and was about to retire for the night, what else could he possibly have to do?

"That's ridiculous. Don't humans get sick from being too cold?" He asked her. Orihime was taken aback by the sudden softness in his usually menacing voice. '_He sounded like Ichigo when he said that…'_ she realized, forlorn piercing her brain like a spear. His eyes trailed over her exposed body, leaving burns everywhere they touched.

"Yes, we can... but I'm okay, really! It's not so bad once I fall asleep!" She tried to perk up to reassure him so that maybe he would leave but clearly, her facade was not working.

"Idiot. Get in your bed, I'll be right back." She watched his large frame exit her room in a blast of sonido with pure confusion. What was he up to?

Like a good little prisoner, Orihime did as she was told and sunk into her bed. It was a comfortable mattress and the sheets were made of high quality materials, much nicer than what she had at home, but the light blanket provided to her was much too thin for the freezing Hueco Mundo nights. Ulquiorra had never offered anything else and she was much too nervous to bring it up with him so she decided her best option was to just grin and bear it.

'_Mate…'_

'_Mate…'_

The word Starrk had used to describe her earlier in the hallway had been rattling around her brain since the fateful encounter. She had heard through the Hueco Mundo grapevine that Grimmjow's original form was that of a panther adjuchas before he was transformed by the hogyoku. Was that why Starrk had used such a strange and primitive term when referring to her?

'_Grimmjow's mate…'_ she mused to herself. She hated how safe and content the idea of being his made her feel. He was a predator, a killing machine, hellbent on accumulating power and annihilating anyone who stood in his way. He was not her boyfriend, or anyone's boyfriend. She had to stop being ridiculous. For all she knew, he wasn't even capable of love.

'_Ichigo, I don't want you to come here.'_ She tried to tell her precious orange-haired soul reaper telepathically. '_I'm too scared for you to come here. I don't want them to hurt you… but… if you do come here, please get me out soon. I'm losing my mind.'_

Being Grimmjow's mate. She had to let that thought go as soon as possible. She was absolutely losing her mind.

Before she could finish her reverie, a flash of blue approached her bed. By the time she snapped back to reality, Orihime realized she was being covered in a second, much more substantial blanket. '_An actual comforter…'_ she realized with glee. The same hands that caused so much pain and destruction were gently tucking the top of the down comforter under her chin. Well... as gently as Grimmjow was capable of being, at least. Her large grey eyes, shining with gratitude, stared unabashedly into his glowing blue ones.

"I guess the Espada are treated better than the prisoner with the God-like powers, imagine that." He mumbled to no one in particular. Was this Grimmjow's blanket? She realized it had to be, it smelled just like him- surprisingly fresh, crisp and clean, like snow-covered pines on a bright winter morning. She reveled in the masculinity and earthiness of his scent, feeling so small and protected beneath it despite knowing he despised her.

The small amount of dark, intoxicating spiritual energy left over on the fabric from his last sleep tickled her cheek, daring anyone to lay a finger on her at their peril. It was okay to pretend, right?

"But Grimmjow… this is your blanket, isn't it?" She asked, feeling guilty for her weakness.

"Duh." He responded. He made a move to turn and leave but Orihime decided she didn't want him to go just yet.

"What will you sleep with if I have your comforter? Won't you get cold?"

"Tch. I'm a fucking hollow, Orihime. I don't get cold or hot." He responded curtly. Orihime's tummy fluttered at the sound of her name. Besides Aizen, no one else here called her by her name. She couldn't believe Grimmjow had. He was half turned towards her and half turned towards the door. He clearly wanted to leave.

"But Grimm-"

"You need it more than I do, woman. Keep it." Ah, there it was. _Woman._

"Why did you come back to my room after your duties were over in the first place?" She knew she would regret asking more questions when he was clearly done with the conversation but she couldn't help it. She saw him stiffen.

"There was a scent and spiritual energy outside your door that I knew shouldn't be there." Orihime felt a wave of fear wash over her. Someone had been outside her room? Who? How long had they been there?

"I didn't notice a spiritual pressure…" She whispered with dread.

"That's because Aizen had the walls of this room reinforced with seki seki so no one can sense you, just in case that substitute soul reaper asshat decided to come rescue you or some low-level arrancar wanted a snack." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, visibly uncomfortable. "That's why I had to check. I could sense the presence outside the room but not inside."

Wait… did that mean Grimmjow was worried about her? He clearly noticed, or maybe sensed, her sudden change in demeanor from fear to happiness as she considered that implication. He prickled under her warm gaze.

"I wasn't worried about you, Princess. I want this 6 to stay on my back as long as possible and if your weak ass gets killed, it's on me." He snapped. Orihime still smiled a small smile despite herself and inhaled the scent of his comforter again.

"Thank you, Grimmjow. I'm happy you're my new babysitter." She bravely proclaimed to his retreating form. He stopped his lazy stroll to her door and turned his head to look at her with conflicted eyes. Almost before she could notice, those pools of blue fire snapped back to being filled with annoyance.

"Tch. Like hell I'd let Ulquiorra do a better job than me."

Orihime giggled. The only pride she could imagine ever rival Grimmjow's would be Ichigo's.

Sometimes blue could be really, really similar to orange.

**ovovovovovovovovovo**

A/N: [Keep an eye out for chapter 2. I wasn't planning on making this into more than a one-shot but it was getting so dang long and I have so many more ideas that I think I'm going to make this into a collection of inter-connected one-shots?] Anyway, just a little story I came up with in my mind after watching Bleach. I realized Grimmjow and Ichigo were so much alike in their personalities. Of course, their motivations and methods are different but I just couldn't help but notice, you know? They are both so intense and motivated to level up and their faces are kind of similar in the way that they're drawn. I kind of wondered if maybe Orihime had noticed, so by writing this, I forced her to :) Anyway, not a ton of fluff in this chapter (maybe soon though?) but I love the idea of shipping Orihime and Grimmjow. I'm a sucker for the whole "opposites attract" type of flings! Hope you liked!

By the way, I haven't written like this in probably about 10 years. I don't know if anyone reads Bleach fanfiction anymore but after rewatching the whole series recently on a whim, I had so many ideas so I decided to finally reenter the writing world! Hopefully I haven't gotten too rusty!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey you, welcome to **Chapter 2** ;) By the way, this is a continuation from the first chapter. Everything will interlock, but not all of them will be continuations. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

Rated T for tha cuss-ang.

I don't own Bleach or the characters

* * *

'_Ichigo….?'_ Could she really be in Ichigo's arms right now? She grimaced as she began to regain consciousness, the harsh moonlight streaming through her closed eyelids. She noticed her aching body was enclosed within the tight grasp of two rock solid arms. The swaying feeling of being in a small boat on a turbulent ocean made her head spin as she put all her strength into wrenching open her eyes.

"Can't die yet, Princess. Wake the hell up." Where she expected to see brown and orange, sky blue and aquamarine met her sharpening vision. It was Grimmjow. She was in Grimmjow's arms.

Her gaze reluctantly tore away from his delicately sculpted face and shifted to see where they were walking. The sudden realization at how high up she was in the air only confirmed her suspicion that she was at the complete mercy of the Sixth Espada. In a sudden irrational fear of falling to the stained concrete floor, her small hands shot up and locked his pristine white jacket in a death grip.

"W-what happened to me?" She whispered. Her heart was nearly about to beat out of her chest as her mind feebly attempted to review all of her most recent experiences. It came up blank, of course.

Orihime was surprised when the tall Espada's gaze quickly averted her own and chose to stare off into the dark distance of the long hallway instead.

"I knocked you out." He said simply.

"Why would you-" her panicked question was quickly cut off.

"Look, it's not like you think." He looked back down at her with intensity. "I noticed the scent and spiritual pressure I sensed last night was back at your door. When I went to investigate, I saw those two air-headed bimbos Loly and Menoly walking away from your room. I threw a cero at them but they somehow dodged it and well, it went right through your wall. I guess in the blast, a piece must have hit you in the head or something because when I came in to check on you, you were passed out in the rubble."

One of Orihime's hands that was previously gripping his jacket flew to her mouth to stifle a laugh. She had no idea why, but the mental image of what had transpired was giving her major giggle fits despite the throbbing in her head that told her he was not making this up.

"I don't know what you think is so funny, idiot. Your weak human skull could have been crushed and you could be dead." He glared down at her. Whether in contempt or concern, she was not sure.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked, curiosity bubbling to the front of her mind as he sharply turned a corner.

"To my room of course. It kind of defeats the purpose of being a prisoner when your cell has a hole in the wall doesn't it?" It made sense, Orihime's still foggy brain decided, relaxing in his arms as she allowed herself to be engulfed in the warmth of his hard body.

"Besides, what if those brats came back to bother you? That would be fucking annoying to deal with. Ulquiorra would never let me hear the end of it." He murmured in a low grumble, seemingly more to himself than her. As much as Orihime wished he actually felt concern for her well-being, it sounded more like he would have been put out by the prospect of having to come all the way back to her room just to punish a couple of little girls for their insolence.

* * *

The implication of Orihime sleeping in Grimmjow's room hit her like a ton of bricks when he suddenly kicked open a tall door. This must have been their stop. This must be Grimmjow's room. Her eyes flitted over the large space with tall ceilings. It was not unlike any other room in Las Noches with it's simplicity and clean color scheme. The floor was the same dark stained concrete and the walls were the same moon-bathed white.

Where Orihime was only given a couch and a small bed, Grimmjow had an enormous four poster bed that loomed over her from the opposite wall, tucked between the two impossibly tall windows that allowed in ample moonlight. His couch was flanked by two cozy looking arm chairs and an unlit fireplace stretched from floor to ceiling on the wall to her right. To her left, there was an open door that lead to what looked like a bathroom. She had one as well, but even without going inside, she could tell through the door frame that Grimmjow's was much larger. A massive, dark wooden bureau was placed to the right of the bathroom door. That must be where he kept his endless supply of white jackets and hakama, wasn't it? She deduced, humored by the thought of what the inside of his bureau must look like.

Before she knew it, she was carelessly placed on the floor. Grimmjow threw the down comforter he had given her the night before on the long couch. She didn't even realize he had it until that moment.

"You can have the couch." He said sharply before looking her up and down with a scowl. "You should probably bathe. You're covered in dust from the cero explosion."

Orihime looked down at herself to find out that he was correct. Her Las Noches-issued dress was covered in grime and so were her hands. She knew her face must have been a sight as well. A crisp white sleeping yukata was shoved unceremoniously into her chest. She caught the large garment before it fell to the floor.

"You can wear this." He grumbled before he threw himself onto his massive bed, lounging like….. a large lazy cat. Orihime chirped her thanks as she retreated into his bathroom. Why did he get this to sleep in and she got almost nothing? Prisoners can't be choosers, she guessed.

White, sterile, organized. The only color Orihime ever saw anymore was the refreshing hue of Grimmjow's bright blue hair and eyes. Maybe that's why she craved his presence more and more. He reminded her that there was more to life than just black, white, and moonlight. Even her own warm-toned locks seemed more of an ash brown in this dungeon, her usually bright grey eyes lost their twinkle with the absence of the sun and her hope.

Without looking at the disaster she knew she would see staring back at her in the large mirror, she stripped her clothing off and entered the hot, steamy shower. She was taken aback by how good the water felt- and how vulnerable she was. Why was she not more frightened? Why was her fight or flight instinct turned completely off? She willed her too-relaxed frame to stiffen up once more in preparation to flee her compromising situation but it would not. She was completely happy and content right where she was. What a damn fool; a little lamb oblivious to the panther that wouldn't hesitate to devour her.

When she dispensed some of Grimmjow's body wash onto a cloth, she realized just why he smelled so good. The heady floral smell of jasmine entertwined with the woodsy aroma of sandalwood- soft, yet perfectly masculine. Where did he get this anyway? It was an unmarked bottle, no label or description yet it worked just as well if not better than the soaps from the world of the living. Perhaps there was someone in Las Noches who made the toiletries?

To her dismay, Grimmjow was still a man and had only body wash and shampoo, no conditioner. She felt a prick of annoyance when she realized his sky-hued hair was shinier than hers despite her 5-step routine. She quickly washed her long tresses and rinsed off all the excess suds, allowing herself a few more minutes to enjoy the heat of the water cascading down her body and the musky fragrance of the soaps that cleansed her skin.

A gush of cool air suddenly spilled over the shower door, slamming against Orihime's naked body. Grey eyes snapped open, trying to pinpoint where the intrusion could have come from when she saw a smudge of tan, white and blue saunter past the frosted glass- the only thing separating her from the Espada who had just entered the room.

A fierce blush spread over Orihime's cheeks. She was trapped in the shower! The yukata Grimmjow had given her was left on the counter, far out of her reach. She couldn't hear much of what he was doing with the water pounding into her senses so she reached down to twist the faucet, causing the onslaught to recede.

"H-hey Grimmjow…" Her voice echoed off the tall ceilings of the bathroom, sounding like a frightened kitten who lost her mother. "I need to get out."

"Then get out. It's not difficult, just use the handle." He snapped back sarcastically.

"B-but Grimmjow! I can't…" She protested, praying he would get the hint.

"You were taking way too long, woman. I have a bedtime routine too, you know."

Orihime grimaced and grabbed the towel that was waiting for her, draped over the frosted pane of glass. She patted herself as dry as she could manage and wrapped it as tightly as possible around her still dripping wet figure. She hoped she could get to the yukata before too much of a scene was caused.

Slipping out the shower door, Orihime almost lost it when she saw Grimmjow standing over one of his two sinks, gazing lazily at his reflection in the mirror as he brushed the bone fragment on his jaw. The fact that he had discarded his jacket was distracting enough but she had no idea she brushed his _bone fragment_.

"What the hell are you staring at this time, Princess?" He dropped his hand that held the toothbrush and turned fully to face her, making her realize that once again, she had been caught unknowingly enraptured by his very presence. She blinked her eyes and shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," she smiled, desperately trying not to laugh. "I just didn't realize you, uh, brushed your bones." She cringed at the way she said it. Wasn't there a more polite way of saying "I didn't know you were so well groomed"?

"It would be disgusting not to. What did you think? I just leave all the blood, sand particles, and whatever else makes it's way into my jaw bone to sit there? Tch." He rolled his eyes and turned back to the task at hand. Orihime quickly made her way to the sleeping yukata. It was a blessing that she had left it on the opposite end of the long counter, allowing her to maintain a good distance from Grimmjow.

She slipped back into the shower and dropped the towel, allowing the cool fabric and clean scent of the robe to cover her nakedness. It reached just below the middle of her calves, though it was a cropped yukata and supposed to be shorter. She was sure on Grimmjow it probably stopped around his knees, but she didn't mind the excess length. She smiled when she noticed for the first time a '6' embroidered in black thread on the top left side of the yukata. How adorable these murderous Espada could sometimes be, though she was sure Aizen had a lot to say about the fashion and design at Las Noches.

When she was once again outside the shower, this time appropriately dressed, she noticed Grimmjow had moved on to cleaning his actual teeth. Without turning back to face her, he tossed a cardboard and plastic package over his shoulder. It hit her in the forehead and fell to the floor, landing with a resounding thud. She bent over to pick it up, careful to not let the yukata open too much at the chest.

A toothbrush?

Grimmjow spit the excess foam from his mouth and took a mouthful of water, swigging it around and promptly spitting it out as well.

"I didn't bring yours since I knew I had extras." He explained simply, grabbing a small box that was sitting next to his sink, he pulled a long string out of the small opening. '_Floss'_ she realized, not trusting herself to hold in the laughter that demanded to escape her clenched lips.

'_Grimmjow really is a cat'_ Orihime mused to herself, remembering the housecats back home that spent their days lounging in the sun and grooming their coats.

Orihime all but tiptoed to the second sink next to Grimmjow in trepidation, carefully opening the cardboard package that held her gifted toothbrush. Is this what it would be like if she was stuck in the panther exhibit at the Tokyo Zoo? While he was hyper focused on maneuvering the thin floss between his immaculate teeth, the young woman allowed herself to take a few discreet peeks at the man next to her.

Heavens, was he a sight to behold. The lightness of his blue hair and almond-shaped electric blue eyes contrasted so nicely against his wonderfully tanned skin. The muscles that connected his neck to his shoulders pulsed with each movement, perfectly taut from a lifetime of fighting. His pectorals, his abdomen, his arms, every muscle stood at full attention, even in his relaxed state. He was the definition of masculinity, of pure unadulterated power. Orihime knew that if someone were to ever come after her and he decided to protect her, she would be the safest girl in the world. Maybe just by being here in his living quarters, she already was the safest girl in the world? The thought made her head feel slightly lighter.

Her eyes finally landed on that empty abyss that marred his otherwise perfect 6-pack. What would it be like to put her hand through it? Was it cold inside or just room temperature? Would her hand feel any different? Would he be able to feel it? The skin that dove into the hole was smoothed perfectly over the surface, like fondant on a cake. There were no harsh edges, it all flowed together so seamlessly. Who knew a hole in a person's body could be so aesthetically pleasing?

"I swear Orihime, if you keep looking at me like that I really am going to rip your head off your neck." The sound of Grimmjow's low threat combined with the growling of her first name was more than enough to shake the young girl out of her mind. Orihime mentally cursed herself as she realized her discreet glances had once again, become full-out ogling of the poor arrancar. He had just thrown away the used piece of floss and was now beginning to wash his handsome face.

"I-I'm sorry, Grimmjow. I just got lost in thought again." She explained with an apologetic and half-hearted giggle. "I do that a lot!" She emphasized.

"You don't say." He snapped as he worked the soap into his face, avoiding the bone sitting atop his jaw. She noticed that the blue streaks under his eyes did not budge with the ministrations- that wasn't eyeshadow like she had thought. They were natural markings. '_Interesting… so if Ulquiorra washed his face, would his markings stay on too?' _

With a splash of water and a few pats of a fluffy white hand towel, Grimmjow returned his attention back to Orihime who was currently attempting to make herself seem busy getting the tangles out of her damp hair. She had finished brushing her teeth somewhere between her appreciation of his shoulders and his hollow hole. He tossed a comb at her.

"Out." He barked, more a dog than a cat in this moment. Orihime gratefully took the comb and without question, left the bathroom. At the sound of the shower turning back on, she realized why he had her leave. So she wasn't allowed to see him naked but he almost got to see her nude? That didn't seem quite fair.

'_Orihime! What are you thinking? You do NOT want to see him naked!'_ she mentally scolded herself.

Oh, who was she kidding? Of course she did.

* * *

She hoped Grimmjow wouldn't mind.

Orihime had made herself right at home in the Sixth Espada's living quarters by opening his gigantic bureau. Man, she had cajones but it paid off when she found what she was looking for. Her earlier predictions of the dresser being filled with multiples of his usual outfit were correct. In the drawers below, she found a few more sleeping yukatas, many pairs of the black socks all the arrancar wore with their white sandals, and blushed profusely when she found pairs of small white shorts, each embroidered with a '6' on the front of the left leg hole. First the yukata and now the underwear? Someone, most likely Aizen, certainly had a thing for tasteful embroidery. She knew these had to be the male Espada version of underwear. The mental image of Grimmjow wearing nothing but these small silk shorts continued to burn in her mind as she opened the final drawer at the bottom, revealing the extra linens she had hoped would be there.

She pulled one cool sheet out from the drawer, closing the doors of the bureau and making sure all looked as it had before so she didn't have to face his wrath at her intrusion of his privacy. Tucking the sheet into the edges of the couch cushions, Orihime grabbed one of Grimmjow's four down feather pillows, hoping he wouldn't notice this infraction either. '_Surely he doesn't need all four pillows… right?' _

After placing the beloved and extremely appreciated white duvet atop her stolen sheet, she stood back to admire her handy-work. Who else could make such a fine looking makeshift bed in Hueco Mundo? Not many others, she mused. Hearing the shower water turn off and knowing he would be reentering his room any time now, Orihime dove under the covers, preparing to fake sleep until she could find the real thing.

She had no idea that the physical damage done to her body earlier mixed with the comforting scent from Grimmjow's sheets wafting up into her nose would knock her out so quickly. Before she could count to three, Orihime had entered dreamland.

* * *

Grimmjow was thankful that the couch Orihime was using for a bed tonight faced away from the door of his bathroom. He honestly couldn't care less if she saw him naked but the way she constantly stared at him with those huge sparkling eyes disconcerted him. He truly disliked the copious amounts of attention he received from her and didn't feel up to having those innocent eyes plastered to his bare body at the moment.

The blue-haired arrancar sauntered over to his bureau and flung open the doors. Immediately, the sight of one of his socks hanging from the crack of a dresser drawer, causing it to remain slightly ajar, drew his attention. This was not right. Grimmjow had a weird obsession with organization and would have never allowed one of his socks to not be in the right place. He made quick work of the offending article and closed the drawer once more, feeling satisfied when it shut completely, the way it should.

Still mulling over how his sock ended up askew, he opened the drawer that held his underwear and pulled out a pair. He slid the thin, crisp fabric of the shorts up his legs and let the band rest on his hips as the tied the sash around his waist to keep them in place. He adjusted them to sit slightly lower than his hollow hole. It tickled when they brushed up against the sensitive skin there. He turned back to the dresser and moved to close the underwear drawer when-

'_It was her'_ he thought menacingly to himself.

The delicious smell of the female human sleeping on the other side of the room wafted up from the fabric in the underwear drawer. He moved his head closer to the bureau, sniffing each drawer, finding her scent on the sock that had gotten stuck, on a pair of underwear sitting innocently in their place, and without a doubt, on the linens at the bottom. The scent was strongest there so he deduced that the linens were her target, everything else was just an unfortunate casualty.

How did he not notice it in the very beginning? It must have been because she bathed with his soaps. Possibly it just took him a moment to sift past the mask of his own scent to find her true fragrance? Regardless, the gall of this woman, breaking into his dresser without his express permission, it was an otherworld kind of bravery. She was getting too damn comfortable in his presence, he decided, so he stalked over to the couch where she lay. She was going to learn her lesson right here, right now.

"Wom-"

He couldn't get the simple word out of his mouth as his eyes landed on her sleeping frame. Her large eyes were closed in blissful slumber, sooty lashes brushing her pink cheeks, a small smile playing on her lips as her arms hugged his comforter to her chest. He watched her small face bury itself into the fabric and heard her deeply inhale. She hummed happily, her full mouth making contented clicking sounds. He could sense she was definitely asleep. He couldn't bring himself to wake her up. '_Damn it, Grimmjow. Don't get fucking soft.'_

* * *

_Prowling around the soft sands of Hueco Mundo had gotten old hundreds of years ago, but the primal urge within him to progress, to dominate, was stronger than any boredom he could ever experience. When he spotted the adjuchas a few yards away from him that he had smelled an hour or so ago, his instincts flared and in the blink of an eye, he had ripped out it's throat. _

_He had already consumed the closest thing he had to friends, what was a few more adjuchas? He knew that within the next ten years of doing exactly this, he would finally achieve his goal… he would finally transform into a Vasto Lorde. A strange scent entered the canals of his overly sensitive nose. The panther's head shot up and looked around the vast expanse of nothing. Where was this sickeningly sweet smell coming from? _

"_Grimmjow, am I right?" A coy voice purred from behind him. _

_The panther adjuchas abandoned the corpse he was currently devouring and spun around to face the phantom behind him. It had to have been some sort of deity right? No one could sneak up on Grimmjow Jaggerjaquez like that. His sense of smell was unparalleled in all of Hueco Mundo. Sometimes he wondered if his ability to pick up spiritual energies was even stronger, but that was an argument for later._

"_Who are you?" He snarled at the man with lanky brown hair and glasses. The other, considerably shorter figure to his right with silver hair and a sly smile almost put him more on edge. He was just a small boy, but there was something about his grinning, fox-like face that raised Grimmjow's hackles. He knew he shouldn't underestimate the one with darker skin in tinted glasses either. He was less intimidating than the other two, but his spiritual pressure was considerable. Three fucking soul reapers. What the hell were they doing in Hueco Mundo?_

"_Grimmjow, I want you to work for me." Said the tall brunette. Grimmjow laughed in his face. _

"_In your damn dreams, soul reaper." he ground out, wishing to return to his meal and end this ridiculous farce. Before he could dismiss the three men, a force greater than anything else he had ever experienced slammed into his back. With a hiss, he looked up the best he could to see what the offending attack was, but he could see nothing, only the smiling face of the man with balls big enough to demand his servitude. _

"_Like I said, Grimmjow, I would like you to work for me and I think you would benefit from helping me out as well." His voice never wavered, maintaining it's gentle caress and welcoming tone. _

"_Fuck. Off." The panther said with as much force as he could muster. The child with silver hair that shone almost painfully bright in the Hueco Mundo moonlight lifted his small hand and chanted something Grimmjow couldn't understand. Before he could realize what was going on, electric yellow bands escaped the long, delicate fingers of the soul reaper and wrapped around Grimmjow's limbs, rendering him unable to move. _

"_If you don't want to work for me, that's fine. However, I don't want you turning into a Vasto Lorde and challenging me one day so I think you would be much better suited to returning to a Menos, don't you agree, Gin? Tousen?" Grimmjow's mind screamed in protest as the two other cohorts returned their approval of the brown-haired man's plan. He pulled a small glowing stone out of his black uniform and held it in front of Grimmjow's feline face. _

"_Don't worry, it won't hurt a bit." He smiled as the stone glowed ever brighter, engulfing the panther in an orb of heat. He looked down and watched the paws he worked so hard for dissipate and his cat-like body turn into a black void. This was it, he was returning to Menos status and there was nothing he could do about it. He could never be an adjuchas again…_

"NO!"

Grimmjow sat up in bed so fast that it felt like his brain slammed against the front of his skull. His forehead was dappled in cold sweat and his chest was heaving up and down, desperately trying to fill his lungs with oxygen. His wide panicked eyes took in his surroundings. It was okay, he was still at Las Noches and he was still an Espada. It was just that fucking dream again. He wished dreams could be slaughtered. This one needed to die a slow and painful death.

"Grimmjow… are you okay?" It was only then that Grimmjow noticed Orihime standing by his bed, her large eyes filled with concern. The black 6 embroidered on the sleeping yukata he loaned her was only a further reminder that all was well and he was not, in fact, reverting to a Menos. His own eyes narrowed into slits as he bore his gaze into her, hoping he could scare her off. The last thing he wanted was her pity.

"I heard you thrashing around in your bed and you were saying something about Aizen. I know it was a dream but I wanted to make sure you were okay." She explained, her sing-song voice just above a whisper.

"Of course I'm okay, idiot. Do you see my blood or broken bones anywhere?" He scoffed at her, hoping she wouldn't take the opening he accidentally gave her and say something about his bone fragment.

"Sometimes the injuries of our emotions are more harmful that the injuries of our bodies. It seemed like that dream was really scary." Her eyes betrayed the pain she felt at his contempt but he knew she wasn't going to let this go unless he physically harmed her. Fuck, how could he do something like that? She was so small and weak. It would hurt his pride to hit someone as pathetic as her.

"It's just a dream I've been having for a while, don't worry about it, woman. Go back to bed." Grimmjow lowered his body to rest once again against his mattress not even bothering to pull the top sheet back over his body. Before he could fully close his eyes with trepidation at the thought of having that dream again, a golden glow surrounded his head. His heavy eyes snapped back open and his muscles bunched, preparing to pull him back into a sitting position. Before he could launch upright, a small hand rested firmly on his shoulder.

"Please don't get mad, this will only take a second." She pleaded with him. Grimmjow realized this was the same healing orb she had used the first time he met her to regenerate his arm. What the hell did she think she was doing putting this thing on his head.

"Last I checked, my head was fine." He spat at her, wanting more than anything for her to leave him alone and return to his couch.

"I'm rejecting the dream, Grimmjow. Don't worry, I've done this before for one of my friends. It only works one night at a time, but I promise you won't have the dream again tonight if you go back to sleep." She explained. The hand that was once pathetically holding him down by the shoulder was now lifted next to the other one, he tongue stuck out of her lips slightly in her concentration.

"Kurosaki?" He asked in disgust.

"Ah, no. Rukia Kuchiki, actually. You impaled her on your hand once." Orihime said casually. '_What a thing to say casually'_ Grimmjow mused, slightly humored by the young woman.

"She was almost executed." Orihime explained further, though he definitely didn't remember asking her to. "She had the most horrific nightmares after that. Every night before she would fall asleep, I would surround her head in my Shun Shun Rikka for a few moments and finally after a month or so of treatment, she never had the dreams ever again." Grimmjow's eyes snapped to meet hers. Her attractive face was bathed beautifully in the golden glow from her God-like powers.

"You're telling me that this will take a month of healing my head every. damn. night?" He ground out. That was ridiculous, she probably wouldn't even be here that long.

"Well I guess it depends on the severity of the dream. It could take less time or it could take more time. I'm not as familiar yet with the mental side of my healing powers so it takes some trial and error." She said sheepishly, gracing him with a small, unsure smile.

"Great, you're experimenting on my brain. That's wonderful, Orihime." He watched with selfish pleasure as her face lit up even more with the mention of her name. He noticed early on that he could get physical reactions from her if he said those four symbols that rolled so easily off his tongue. It was fun to play with her like that. Her whole demeanor, even her scent, changed when he said her name. It was far too easy and much too entertaining.

"Don't worry, Grimmjow! You're in good hands!" She chirped with a now-genuine smile. He had to admit, he liked it when she said his name too. Not that he would ever tell her that- over his damn dead body.

* * *

About 20 minutes after Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka went to work on Grimmjow's mind, she could tell that the session was coming to a close. She hoped he didn't mind, but somewhere along the way, she had to perch herself on the edge of his bed. It took much longer to reject a mental injury than a physical one and Grimmjow's dream was a doozy. It was strong and powerful and it seemed that it almost fought against her rejection. Her heart went out to the poor arrancar. He would never admit his fear and pain, but she had felt it so strongly while she was healing that she could almost touch it.

Her eyes locked with his as she contracted the glow back into her hair pins. Like a gust of wind, exhaustion wracked her small body and she couldn't hold herself up. Her eyes rolled back into her head and suddenly, she was falling into darkness… falling…

* * *

What. The. Fuck.

Orihime's body was now laying on top of Grimmjow's. The exertion she put into her long-ass brain healing session had apparently taken it out of her and she passed out right then and there, falling on top of him from her sitting position before he had the chance to move.

Her face was turned toward his, those thick, dark lashes once again resting against her now pale cheeks. Deep, deep down in Grimmjow's stomach, he felt a twinge of guilt. DEEP, DEEP DOWN. This girl had used up all of her energy just to tell a stupid dream to go away. He didn't think he really deserved all the fuss.

He had to admit, the feeling of her ample chest pressing into his was not all that unwelcome. Grimmjow may have been a heartless bastard, but he was still a young man. Okay, he was nearly a thousand years old but his body was that of an 18-19 year old. He had needs, alright?

"Woman…" He whispered harshly at her. Maybe he could get her to move herself. Her right hand moved up to rest on his left pectoral and she softly smiled in her sleep. No such luck. He brushed the unwanted hand off his chest.

"Orihime…" He said a little louder, hoping her name would cut through her slumber and cause her to awaken. She simply frowned and pulled her arms around herself in a hug. A shiver suddenly wracked her slight body. '_Damn it. My duvet is still on the couch.' _

The dream and resulting healing on his head had wiped Grimmjow out. Not even after fighting was he ever this tired. His eyelids were refusing to stay open and this stupid girl was just so warm… '_Fuck it.' _

Grimmjow vowed to himself that he would never again let this happen as he scooped the exhausted girl into his arms. He brought his sheets up over her shoulders and instinctively pulled her against his bare chest to share his body heat. Without a moment to spare, Grimmjow's mind turned off and he was dead to the world. He had not one dream that night and experienced the most peaceful sleep he could remember in the last nearly thousand years of his life.

* * *

AN: Writing da fluff for Grimmjow is so hard without turning him into an OOC mess. I promise I'll try to write more sweet thangs in the chapters to come.

I don't know why, but I've always pegged him as a clean freak. I don't have any cats of my own but my friend's cat is like anal about it's personal hygiene and always keeps it's toys in the same corner of the house. She gets actually distressed if they're moved without her knowing. I can totally see Grimmjow being like this despite his brash behavior. How cute.

Also, I love embroidery. Don't me or Aizen bc you know Lord Groban Smash Master does as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: My Hand, Your Hole

LMAO at the title, once I thought of it, that was it. By the way, this collection of one-shots is inadvertently turning into a freaking chapter story AND ALL THE CHAPTERS ARE 5,000 WORDS LONG HOLY CRAP. I plan on ending the first one-shot with this chapter, making it a three-shot. After this, all the stories will stand alone, though they are still all connected through happening in the same month or so before Orihime is rescued (I know she wasn't actually in Hueco Mundo that long, but that's what I've decided for artistic purposes), they just won't be chronological like the first three chapters!

Rated T for cussing

I don't own bleach or the characters

* * *

Her right hand felt like it had fallen asleep, pale skin prickled with the light whispers of an electrical current. What was this strange sensation?

Like every "morning" when she arose to begin a new day as Hueco Mundo's one and only caramel-haired human prisoner, Orihime allowed the glow of the constant moonlight to infiltrate her cracked eyelids, before gaining the energy to open them completely.

Except this morning was not like the others. Not at all.

She was warmer than usual; her head nestled into the heated flesh of a rock solid chest. When she breathed in, the soft masculine scent of a man filled her nostrils. The worst discovery of all was Orihime's hand rested somewhere she knew it should never, ever be.

She looked down with dread lacing her features. As she had suspected, she found her arm draped over the right side of a man's body, except this was no average man's body. How many men in this world had a gaping hole through their stomach? Not many, Orihime would guess, and currently her hand was resting in the center of this one.

Her immediate instinct was to swiftly pull away from the hole to attempt to save herself from whatever terrors would follow Grimmjow finding her in such a situation. However, before she could act on her gut feeling, she wondered if pulling it out would wake him up. Would he be able to feel her hand leave the abyss? She decided she would treat it like a stack of Jenga blocks- get her hand out, but do it as slowly and carefully as she could manage. Before she began her calculated retreat, her eyes betrayed her and flickered up to check the face of the man she was currently violating.

Piercing blue pools met her grey gaze. Orihime's heart stopped completely in her chest.

"Are you gonna get your damn hand out of my hole or not?" He asked with a goodmorning glare that nearly skinned the poor girl alive. Orihime immediately slid her hand away from the cavity in his center and pulled it to her chest. To her surprise, a genuine smile appeared on Grimmjow's face and his eyes closed as he laughed awkwardly, clearly trying to hold it in and keep his cool.

"Does it tickle?" Orihime asked, also trying to keep her cool but finding the situation more humorous now than terrifying as it was before.

"It feels like nothing, it's a hole." He responded back, a little too quickly. He had regained his composure and despite the faint pink tinge on his cheeks, seemed to be completely back to normal. With a movement faster than the flap of a hummingbird's wings, Grimmjow pushed Orihime off his body and swung his legs over the side of the bed before standing up with a grace that could only be called feline. As the cold air hit the spots on Orihime's body that were once pressed up against the Sixth Espada, she curled into a smaller ball and subconsciously pouted.

"The maid is coming." He said shortly as he walked over to his bathroom. Orihime couldn't sense anything coming towards Grimmjow's room but she knew better than to question his sharp senses. She sat up in his bed, not knowing what to do since the blue-haired man shut himself up in the bathroom and her clothes were still too gross to put back on. She pulled her knees to herself and hugged them, resting her head and closing her eyes, waiting for some sort of instruction. She listened to the swishing sounds of a toothbrush and the flow of water coming from the bathroom and wondered momentarily if his morning grooming routine was anything like the one he performed at night.

She thought more about how he looked this morning, fresh out of bed. He looked so young when his hair wasn't styled. The blue tresses fell charmingly across his forehead and tickled the thick lashes that framed his still groggy blue eyes. The teal markings under those same eyes were still perfectly in place, adding more credit to her finding from last night that they were natural and not some sort of arrancar makeup.

She realized as she went deeper and deeper into her thoughts that she was actually falling back asleep. She was about to allow herself to lay back down and resume her slumber until she heard a light knock at the door.

"Jaggerjaquez-sama, is it alright if I come in and begin cleaning your quarters?" A small, shaking voice asked from the other side of the door. The door to the bathroom cracked open and Grimmjow's still unstyled hair peaked out slightly.

"Come in." He grumbled, loud enough to make it through his room and past the door that led to the hallway of Las Noches. Orihime's eyes widened in embarrassment knowing how her being here would look to the maid. If Grimmjow hadn't gone back into the bathroom as soon as he answered her question, Orihime would have given her best shot at shooting daggers into him with her eyes. Even though she was still covered by the sleeping yukata, she pulled the blankets up around her protectively as she heard the door slowly open. Her cheeks blazed when the doe-eyes of the maid met hers. The small woman was clearly uncomfortable in the Sixth Espada's room so she yanked her gaze away from Orihime and did not say a word, but it was clear on her pale cheeks that she was blushing as well. An internal groan died to escape Orihime's lips in exasperation but she held it in to avoid any more embarrassment. She went back to hugging her legs to her chest, allowing her eyes to droop once again as the rhythmic sounds of a broom lulled her into a sleepy trance.

"How is the maid supposed to get my sheets when you're still in bed?" A gruff voice snapped Orihime out of her light sleep and her eyes shot open. Grimmjow had just left the bathroom and was making his way toward his bureau. He was still only in his small white sleep shorts, not a care in the world that the other 80% of his beautiful body was exposed to the two women in the room. The one currently dusting the mantle of the fireplace was clearly making a strong point of not raising her intense glance from the particles she was aggressively swiping at with the feathered tool, her face a brighter red than Renji Abarai's hair. Orihime found herself holding back a giggle. It was so effortless for Grimmjow to force people into experiencing extreme emotions, whether it was fear, anger, despair, humor, awkwardness, whatever. She wondered for a moment what it would be like to have that kind of control over others.

Quickly sliding out of the bed, the young prisoner scampered to the bathroom. She decided while Grimmjow dressed that it would be more comfortable for her to be anywhere else. She picked up the toothbrush he had given her last night and began to rid herself of her morning breath. After she was finished cleaning her teeth, she measured up her appearance in the mirror. Brooding over the dark circles under her eyes, she tried to pinch her cheeks to make some color appear and give her at least some life in her face.

"Shun'ou… Ayame… can you heal these dark circles under my eyes? I look like the walking dead." She whispered, seemingly to no one. However, the delicate blue petals from her hairpins that consisted of her healing powers zoomed off the side of her head and encapsulated her face in their warm, comforting glow.

"Don't worry, sweet Orihime! We'll have you in tip top shape in no time!" The little blonde fairy said as she worked to right the wrong. When the process was complete, Orihime thanked her Shun Shun Rikka and smiled when she looked back into the mirror. Her face glowed healthy and fresh, the pools of purple under her once dull eyes were now gone.

With a brave new face, Orihime left the bathroom and found a dressed Grimmjow perched in one of his armchairs, putting on his white sandals. He was drinking some sort of concoction that looked like a protein shake out of a clear drinking glass. She wondered what the ingredients were but something told her not to ask. She had a sinking suspicion that the arrancar diet was a topic she was better off not delving into.

"Is the maid already finished cleaning?" Orihime asked him as she sat across from his large frame in the other armchair. He grunted his affirmative, not caring to say much. Orihime lifted her legs to tuck her feet underneath her. She laid her head on the armrest of the chair and watched the man across from her rise and strap his zanpakuto to his tight waist. He downed the rest of the contents of the glass with furrowed brows and a light grimace. It was clear that whatever he was ingesting was not a delicious treat. He placed the glass on a silver tray that sat on the coffee table in front of the couch and dabbed at his mouth on the back of his hand.

He reached his door and grabbed the handle, about to leave when he turned to her.

"I gave the maid your clothes so she could wash them with my sheets. She'll come back in a few hours to clean the bathroom and she'll have the finished laundry with her. Another servant will be bringing you breakfast soon. There will be two guards outside the door and it will be locked so don't even think about trying to leave, got it?"

Orihime audible swallowed and nodded her head.

"Have a great day, Grimmjow!" She chirped before he could successfully leave the room. He paused for a split second but before Orihime could register his hesitation, he was gone in a flash of sonido.

* * *

"Grimmjow, I put doors in Las Noches so that you would not have to use cero blasts to enter the rooms here." Sosuke Aizen said, beginning the daily Espada meeting on a sour note.

"It was not my intention to hit the wall, Aizen-sama." He replied, a biting edge to his explanation.

"Whether it was your intention or not, the end result is still a large hole in the wall of the cell that is supposed to be holding our prisoner. It's a bit of an inconvenience, don't you think?" The snideness of Aizen's voice was grating on Grimmjow's nerves to the point where it took everything he had not to explode.

"What's actually inconvenient is allowing Loly and Menoly free reign to go around terrorizing a weak human girl and having to make sure they don't kill her." Grimmjow snapped back, remembering all too well the reason behind his unapproved cero attack.

"Are you really that worried about Orihime, Grimmjow? Her well-being doesn't seem like something you would concern yourself with." Aizen said coyly with a small smirk sinking into his long face.

"Perhaps our little Grimmy-kun really does love Mrs. Jaggerjaquez. How sweet." Gin cooed, earning laughs and japes from all of the Espada around the room at Grimmjow's expense.

'_Fuck this, I'm out.'_

Grimmjow nonchalantly rose from his seat at the meeting table. "If we're not going to have a serious meeting, I have better things to do." He growled lowly, trying his hardest to seem unbothered by the hoots and hollers from those around him and the insinuations from a few that his "better thing to do" was Orihime. He hated this. Usually he was on the giving end of bullying, not on the receiving. Not cool.

"I think I'd rather you stay." Aizen said cooly as Shinso, Gin's admittedly terrifying zanpakuto, shot past his face faster than the speed of light. His eyes crossed as they attempted to focus in on the razor sharp edge, only millimeters from his nose. He turned his head toward the three soul reapers at the head of the table and allowed his full annoyance to light his gaze on fire, hating each one of them more than the other.

"Clingy girlfriend isn't a good look for you, Aizen." He spat as he crossed his arms and threw himself back in his chair.

"Show some respect, Grimmjow." Tousen warned.

"Damn. I was going to roll my eyes at you, Tousen, but what's the point?" Grimmjow said with a small smirk of mischief, enjoying resuming his position as the true resident Las Noches bully. The espada around the table laughed at the jest.

"Don't make me sever your arm from your body again." Tousen warned. Grimmjow's smile only widened.

"Be my guest, soul reaper. I'll just have my sweet little wife bring it back." With that, the whole room erupted in laughter. Even Gin was chuckling to himself at the expense of the blind shinigami. Nnoitra slapped Grimmjow on the back.

"My man!" He yelled with a laugh. Grimmjow just slouched casually in his high-backed chair, resting his jaw on his fist, knowing the battle of insults had been won. The fun came to a jarring halt as Aizen's spiritual power knocked the air out of their lungs.

"That. is. enough." He ground out. Everyone in the room was immediately uncomfortable with the uncharacteristic anger Aizen was not bothering to conceal.

"We will now begin the meeting."

* * *

Orihime's eyes snapped up to Grimmjow's bedroom door when she heard the handle jiggle. Whoever was about to enter the room had not been there even half a second ago- a sonido user. It had to have been an Espada.

Bloody and bruised, Grimmjow stumbled into the room. Gasping and raising to her feet from her spot at the coffee table, Orihime didn't even think as she immediately approached his beaten form.

"What happened to you?" She breathed as she looked over all his wounds, a knot forming in her stomach.

"Don't worry about it." He muttered as he began to take off his jacket. Orihime's face flushed but she did not look away. She wanted to know exactly where he was hurt so that she could better heal him.

'_Heal him, Orihime? What are you thinking? He's almost killed Ichigo multiple times!' _She didn't realize in her mental battle that Grimmjow had gotten completely stripped down to his underwear and socks. Braving the awkwardness of her innocence, Orihime allowed herself to focus back in on his body. The injuries weren't as bad as she thought. He was cut up and definitely bruised, but the cuts were shallow and nothing was anywhere near life threatening.

"Were you fighting?" She pushed back, hoping to get some sort of answer.

"Training." He responded curtly, really not in the mood for her usual game of 20 questions. Avoiding the onslaught of curiosity, he retreated into his bathroom and got into the shower to wash the blood off his body.

'_This is what happens when he trains? He looks like he just came back from fighting five of himself.' _She thought to herself in awe. Once again, Orihime found herself comparing the Espada member to Ichigo. They had the same drive for dominance, the same unending energy, the same desire for power. That intensity and focus was something Orihime couldn't wrap her mind around, but she envied it. How individuals like Grimmjow and Ichigo could see past their pain and doubt and keep pushing forward until they faced either victory or death was something Orihime admired above almost all else. She wished she could be like that.

A knock on the door grabbed the young woman's attention.

"Miss Orihime, I have your dinner. May I bring it in?" The same young girl from earlier called through the barrier. Orihime's eyes shifted over to the bathroom where she could still hear the shower running. Grimmjow had a lot to clean from what she could tell, there was time for the maid to make a quick entrance and exit.

"Yes please!" She said back as she once again took a seat on the floor in front of the coffee table. The young maid let herself in and pushed the cart into the room. She grabbed the covered plate and set it on the coffee table in front of Orihime, along with a drinking glass, a pepper and salt shaker, and silverware. After pouring ice cold water into the glass, she raised up to her full height only to bend at the hips in a low bow. The young human would never get used to this type of treatment.

"I'm sorry," Orihime chirped. "I don't think I got your name." The young maid looked at her with shock. Clearly no one had ever cared to know her name before.

"It's not important, Miss." She argued, just above a whisper.

"But how am I supposed to properly thank you when I don't know your name?" Orihime asked with a smile. She was so caught up in her conversation that she didn't hear the shower was no longer on.

"Oh, you don't have to-" The maid pleaded. Orihime would have none of it though.

"Please. I would very much like to know your name." Orihime pushed back, hoping her face looked reassuring and warm. The maid focused her full attention on her feet.

"I-it's Nenna, Miss Orihime." She said, looking almost ashamed.

"Nenna…" Orihime repeated. "That's such a beautiful name! Thank you for everything you do for me, Nenna." She said kindly. Nenna's gaze rose from the floor and locked with Orihime's. Her green eyes shone with confusion but her mouth ticked in the flash of a small smile at the girl with caramel colored hair. She bowed low again.

"It is my pleasure, Miss Orihime." She said, sparing one more conflicted glance. "I will be back for your dishes in an hour." She finished before leaving the room, quiet as a mouse.

"I didn't realize you were just as cruel as I am." Grimmjow teased lazily from his spot leaning against the bathroom door frame after Nenna had completely gone. Orihime looked over at him. Her breath was taken away by his flushed skin from the hot shower. He was wrapped only in a towel that slung low on his waist.

"W-What are you talking about?" She breathed, not trusting her voice to not betray her if she spoke any louder. He smirked at her clear discomfort.

"Forcing that maid to tell you her name. You have no idea who she is or why she's here." Grimmjow watched Orihime in fascination as her face went from bashful and red to furious and red. He had never seen her look so upset before.

"I may not know who she is or why she's a maid but she deserves respect just like anyone else here." Orihime said, her voice much stronger now with her conviction.

"She was a mistake, Orihime. She's one of the discarded arrancar. She has no place here but to wait on those of us with an actual purpose and she's fully aware of that." He said, turning away from Orihime and towards his dresser, dropping the towel. The young woman in the room had a full view of his tight, lifted backside. The glorious pair of muscled cheeks caused Orihime to rapidly look away, embarrassment flooding her veins. Before he could completely cover himself with a pair of underwear and hakama though, she stole one more peek. '_Good heavens'_ she thought as the shifting of his weight caused the dimples above his rear to deepen.

"What do you mean a mistake?" She asked apprehensively, hoping Grimmjow would humor her with a response. Today was her lucky day.

"She was an Adjuchas, like me. Aizen got a hold of her in the very early days before he knew how to properly work the Hogyoku. When he transformed her into an arrancar, she went from being incredibly powerful, to losing everything. She got the arrancar body, but none of her abilities went with her. She can't even fire a simple cero." He explained solemnly as he tied the black sash around his pants.

"That's terrible…" Orihime whispered, feeling a knot form in her throat. Her heart went out to Nenna.

"You have no idea." Grimmjow said lowly. "Aizen destroyed her. Her, and the others whose transformations were botched by the Hogyoku. To be a resident of Hueco Mundo with no means of protecting yourself is a death sentence. They're lucky Aizen kept them on for custodial work instead of abandoning them."

"Why is it so wrong of me to be kind to her though? I don't understand." Orihime said, her heart clenching so painfully at his explanation she could almost cry out.

"It's hard to watch you pity her, Princess." Grimmjow said condescendingly. "She and I were the same before the Hogyoku. We were both strong Gillians who had worked our way up to Adjuchas. Do you know how hard that is? How long it takes? The sacrifices…" He trailed off. "We were both captured around the same time too. What happened to her could have happened to me. Hell, maybe it did and that's why I'm number six. I was only a few years away from becoming a Vasto Lorde before Aizen found me, you know." Orihime sat with her head bowed in silence, holding on to each of Grimmjow's words. She wanted to know his story.

"Anyway," he said, his voice growing harder again. "It's an insult to how far she had gotten before her transformation to pity her. Ask her for her name all you want, but don't fucking talk to her like shes some abandoned puppy or think you're doing her a favor by being nice." Orihime felt like his words had slapped her across the face, but she realized he was right. She also realized how close to home this was hitting him. All she had seen from the Espada were how strong Aizen had made them, but she didn't consider the lives that these beings had before Aizen came in and changed them all forever. The arrancar were considered the bad guys, but it seemed to her that they were just more victims in Aizen's master plan.

"Grimmjow?" Orihime asked softly to the blue-haired man who was now sprawled out across his couch.

"Hm?" He grunted in response, his crystalline eyes closed.

"Do you want some of my dinner? I don't think I can eat all this." She said with a little giggle. When she had taken off the lid, she found a mountain of food that she could never finish. Grimmjow had apparently been relieved of her food duties after word got out that he had taken a quick trip to the world of the living to get Chinese food Gin had ordered and attracted too much attention. He made national news after beating 6 men to a bloody pulp for "looking at him funny" and then completely disappearing, leaving police thoroughly stumped. Apparently the Karakura police were still on the hunt for the 6'1" 170lb blue-haired blue-eyed male with a muscular build. Aizen, Gin, Tousen and Orihime never got their sesame chicken and lo mein, much to their chagrin.

Grimmjow looked at her plate heaped with mashed potatoes, a grilled chicken breast, and broccoli. His face crinkled when he took a sniff of the air, clearly not impressed by the aroma.

"I'll pass." He said, warily eyeing the plate.

"You never eat. How do you have any energy?" Orihime asked with a concerned tilt to her voice.

"I told you, I don't eat that stuff." He responded, clearly aggravated. Orihime remembered what he said when she offered him pizza.

_"Grimmjow…" She continued, waiting for him to acknowledge her inquiry._

_"Are you hungry?" She asked when he quirked a brow at her._

_"Not for that." He responded apathetically, turning his head to stare thoughtfully at the wall on the far side of the room. She didn't understand what he meant and she didn't think she wanted to._

Orihime had thought he had a double meaning behind the 'not for that' response but clearly she was mistaken. She had thought in her dramatic mind that he meant he was hungry for battle or blood, but it now seemed to her that he really just wasn't hungry for pizza.

"Well what do you eat?" She asked, her morbid curiosity getting the best of her.

"That shake I had this morning." He said.

"That's it?!" She sputtered. There was no way all he had in one day was a shake.

"Yeah I drink one of them every morning." She watched as he visibly became bored with the conversation. How could he retain his muscles and activity level with just one shake a day?

"Grimmjow, that's disordered eating. A guy your size needs so much more than that!" Orihime wondered if starvation was one of the methods Aizen used to keep his Espada under his thumb but if that was the case, why did he not starve her?

"Don't be ridiculous. Besides, you don't even know what's in it. How would you know that it's not enough? Idiot." He spat at her. She guessed he had a point.

"But it didn't even seem like you liked it." She protested. "You should eat things that you like!" As an avid, yet unorthodox, amateur chef herself, Orihime became sad at the prospect of eating only foods she didn't enjoy.

"It's pretty bad." He admitted.

"Come on, tell me what's in it." Orihime begged. She was dying to know at this point.

"Tch. You don't want to know." He said, smirking at her.

"I'm really curious, Grimmjow." She pushed back.

"Alright it's your lost appetite, I guess." He said. "It's pulverized hollow bodies mixed with blood and concentrated nutrients that arrancar need to sustain themselves. It's something Szayel came up with when Aizen stopped letting us leave the grounds to hunt." He explained. Bile rose to the top of Orihime's throat as she felt her stomach turn. She lifted a dainy hand to her mouth and closed her eyes, breathing deep and attempting to stop the vomit from escaping. Grimmjow laughed coldly.

"I told you, Princess." He gloated. "The life of an arrancar isn't pretty."

"But isn't there anything else you could eat that tastes better?" She asked when she regained her composure.

"I mean the shakes taste bad." He said. "But there's nothing that tastes better than a fresh kill. If I could still hunt for my food instead of relying on "instameal", as Szayel calls it, I would in a heartbeat." A fresh wave of nausea rolled over Orihime at the thought of a bloody hollow corpse.

"Isn't that like… cannibalism?" She asked hesitantly. She didn't want to offend the blue-haired Espada but curiosity was killing Orihime. He flashed a manic grin at her.

"Something like that." He growled, enjoying the discomfort she was feeling.

"You're right." She admitted with a forced laugh. "I shouldn't have asked." She pushed a piece of broccoli from one side of her plate to the other. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had killed her appetite, but she couldn't bring herself to eat another bite either.

"By the way, you're going to live in my room for the rest of your stay." Grimmjow said after a few silent moments. She heard him sigh in exasperation. He clearly was not pleased.

"Oh." She sputtered. "I feel bad intruding…" She said, feeling bad and slightly nervous that someone like Grimmjow, who had no loyalty to any one or any cause, was having to house Aizen's prisoner.

"Tch. Apparently, you're too weak to be left alone in a place like this. Besides, I think it's Aizen's punishment for me blowing up your room." He huffed.

"I see…" She said. "I'll do my best to not be a bother to you!" She attempted to reassure him with a cheerful smile. He just rolled his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

"Too late for that, woman."

* * *

The color of Grimmjow's hair turned a strange glowing green color when Orihime's golden healing orb was around his head, she noticed. By this time, a maid Orihime did not know had taken away her dinner mess and she had successfully made her couch pallet- this time with the permission of her roommate. Before the pair settled in for the night, Grimmjow had sheepishly asked her to reject his dream again.

"Are you almost done yet?" He asked impatiently. He could be such a child sometimes, she lamented.

"Just a few more minutes, Grimmjow. This dream is feisty." She retorted, pushing her hands slightly closer to his scrunched face to amplify the rejection.

"Feisty? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's like… fighting against my power. It's almost as if it has a will of its own." Orihime truly was stunned at how a dream, an intangible figment fabricated by a brain, could attempt to thwart her abilities but clearly, this one was. She knew she could fully reject it, as she did last night, but it just took more effort than she normally had to use.

Grimmjow's face went from confused to perplexed.

"That's ridiculous." He grumbled. "Dreams can't fight. You must be bad at this or something. It's not surprising." Orihime's mouth twisted into a petulant frown.

"I wouldn't insult the person working on your brain, Grimmjow. It would be a shame if I turned you into a vegetable, wouldn't it?" She asked, surprising herself with her uncharacteristically nasty choice in words. She realized she was spending way too much time with the rude Espada and his habits were beginning to rub off on her.

"I wonder if you are subconsciously fighting me…" She mused more to herself than him. "Grimmjow," she continued. "Is there something in this dream that may be important? Or maybe there is something that happens in it that you need to resolve within yourself?" She asked him, though not expecting a serious response.

"Tch. _Resolve?_" He emphasized with disdain. "It's just a fucked up dream. There are no-" his rant was cut off as his eyes widened to incredible proportions, fear filling their depths. Scared witless by his sudden distress, Orihime grabbed his shoulder, about to ask him what was wrong, when her vision went blank. She gasped when her mind's eye showed her what she saw every day out the window- the moon-bathed sand of Hueco Mundo. There was no movement, no breeze, no nothing. There was only the emptiness of the white sand desert, the black velvet of the night sky, and the occasional crystalline tree.

'_What is happening… why am I out of Grimmjow's room?'_ She wondered, more confused than she had ever been in her life. Before she could come up with an explanation for her teleportation, Orihime heard the eerie voice of a certain soul reaper she had come to know over the past week or so.

"Grimmjow, am I right?" The chilling tone of his voice set Orihime on edge. He, someone who had to be a very young Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tousen were only a few yards away from her, but clearly they did not see or sense her. Was she invisible?

"Who are you?" A deep and rough voice demanded. It was then that Orihime noticed a sleek white wildcat with slender black stripes etched into the body. The large animal had _spoken_ she deduced with shock.

'_This has to be Grimmjow in his adjuchas form…_ _He's beautiful.'_ She admired, noticing the bloodied dead body of a hollow that he was currently eating. So this was what one of his "delicious hunts" looked like.

"Grimmjow, I want you to work for me." Aizen proclaimed in his usual calm demeanor. Orihime's stomach dropped.

'_No…'_

She heard the feline creature laugh. Ah, so he's always been a bold bastard.

"In your dreams, soul reaper.' He said. At the drop of a pen, Orihime was crushed by the release of Aizen's spiritual power. She watched on as the panther fought to remain on his four paws, but it was clearly a challenge.

"Like I said Grimmjow, I would like you to work for me and I think you would benefit from helping me out as well." Her skin crawled at how slimy Aizen sounded. It was like he was trying to lure a child into a sketchy 'Free Candy' van. With Grimmjow's resounding 'Fuck off', she felt a weird swell of pride at how secure in himself he could be. She figured this was the dream he suffered from every night, but she wondered if this was similar to how it had actually happened. That swell was quickly replaced with dread as she watched the young, silver-haired boy's deft fingers ensnare Grimmjow in a kido trap.

"No! Leave him alone!" She screamed, trying to run to the scene of the action but finding that no matter how many steps she took, she was getting nowhere. They didn't even look in her direction. She was truly a fly on the wall.

"If you don't want to work for me, that's fine." Aizen purred. "However, I don't want you turning into a Vasto Lorde and challenging me one day so I think you would be much better suited to returning to a Menos, don't you agree, Gin? Tousen?" The other two present nodded their agreement and Orihime fell to her knees. What were they doing to him? She watched as he pulled a glowing gem out of his black soul reaper uniform, the one he sullied with his treachery. It began to glow ever brighter and dread filled Orihime's heart.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt a bit." He said with a bright smile. The glow from the Hogyoku enveloped the panther's body as he growled and snarled at the men, panic in his familiar blue eyes.

"Please Aizen! Stop! Please stop it!" Orihime screamed again, though she knew it was completely useless. She watched on as the beautiful white big cat began to transform into a Gillian Menos. Large, hot tears fell from her eyes, knowing that he had worked so hard and sacrificed so much only for Aizen to cruelly tear it away from him.

'_It's fear…'_ she internally whispered to herself. '_He's terrified of being weak…'_

A few seconds of darkness enveloped her again before her mind returned to the bedside of the Sixth Espada. His still wide eyes were just beginning to blink with consciousness. He had clearly just returned back to his bedroom from his dream as well. The golden glow from Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka was still present and continuing to extend from her lifted hands, the healing still in process.

Her throat was tight and she found herself heaving, the tears from his dream still flowing down her face. She moved one of her hands and investigated her cheek. Yes, it was wet and they were real. Her eyes darted back to his. He was fully aware now and his frantic gaze was stripping her down to her very soul.

"You saw." He rasped, not even trying to hide his unease. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, a few more tears slipping from her eyelashes.

"That was terrible, Grimmjow. I don't know how that happened… I'm so sorry. I-"

"Stop it, Orihime. Don't you dare fucking pity me too." She lifted her eyes again to his and though she tried her damndest to hold it in, a sob ripped from her lips.

"I don't pity you, Grimmjow." She choked out, wanting more than anything to not be crying at this moment. "I hate them… No, I hate Aizen. Gin… Gin was just a little boy in that dream. How could Aizen exploit a child like that to his evil?" She continued to cry angry tears, her shoulders shaking with the exertion. He was dumbfounded. What was he supposed to do, trapped in this healing orb while Orihime was losing it?

"I've never hated anyone in my entire life." She admitted. "This is the worst feeling ever. But… but what he did to you and to Nenna and to the soul society… it's unforgivable."

Orihime didn't notice that the force of her crying had made one of the sleeves of her borrowed sleeping yukata fall down her right shoulder, exposing more skin than was necessary. One of Grimmjow's hands absentmindedly raised and pushed the fabric back up to cover her. He didn't care to comfort her, but it seemed kind of wrong to enjoy the view of her soft pale skin while she was so distraught. After a few moments, her tears dried up and the glow of her Shun Shun Rikka faded back into her hair pins. Her hot, stinging eyes drooped and her hands fell to her sides.

"There. That terrible dream should be banished for tonight." She smiled at him softly with one last sniffle before standing from her seat on the edge of his bed. She was relieved that she didn't faint on him again like she did last night.

"Grimmjow… was that dream how it actually happened?" His own tired eyes lifted laboriously to look at her, scanning her face for what? She didn't know.

"Yes."

"Then how are you not a Gillian menos now?" Confusion laced with sadness marred her face.

"He only started turning me into a Gillian to scare me. Soon after where the dream ends, he reverses it and turned me into what I am today without my consent. Now I'm just one of his fucking slaves. I can't decide which fate would have been worse." He closed his eyes, clearly expected the conversation to end.

"I'm glad." Orihime said. "I'm glad that he reversed it and you became who you are. I wouldn't change a thing." She said softly before walking back over to his couch. As she gingerly sat herself down upon the sheets, she added with a small chuckle,

"Well, maybe I would change your desire to kill one of my friends."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Princess and the Snake

I don't own Bleach or the characters

* * *

Orihime and Grimmjow were walking down the hallway to the kitchen. The young woman was enthusiastically educating the Espada member on just how adorable mod souls could be when they were put inside stuffed animals, despite him not knowing what a mod soul or a stuffed animal was, when the explosion went off.

"Espadas number 6 and 10 report to section 3C of the palace immediately. I repeat, Espadas number 6 and 10 report to section 3C of the palace immediately." A voice came over the Las Noches intercom system.

"Sorry, Princess. Gotta go." Grimmjow said, his previously bored face snapping to attention with a manic smile when he realized a fight was surely about to go down. In a blast of sonido, Grimmjow vanished, leaving Orihime standing alone in the middle of the nondescript hallway. She had no idea where she was. She wouldn't have been able to find the kitchen or gotten back to Grimmjow's quarters if you offered her 100 million Yen.

She tentatively made her way down the hallway, proceeding in the direction they were headed before Grimmjow was abruptly pulled away for duty. She wondered where the explosion had come from. It couldn't be Ichigo… could it? With disdain, she realized the thought was bittersweet to her. She wanted to go back to her small apartment and be safe and sound with her friends, but leaving behind her new and unlikely companions here would not be painless. Grimmjow, Ulquiorra and Nenna had actually become special to her as much as she hated to admit it and knew it was one-sided. The thought of Grimmjow fighting Ichigo to the death made her want to curl up into a ball and cease to exist. The idea haunted her anytime she had nothing else to mull over. She hoped it would never come to that.

She turned a corner and found an enormous set of ebony double doors that she thought looked similar to the ones that led into the kitchen. She grabbed the handle to enter but before she could push the door open, a pale, delicate hand covered hers.

"Uh uh. I wouldn't do that if I were you, little one." A voice as smooth as silk warned her. She turned around sharply to find Gin Ichimaru looming over her, his boyishly handsome face contorted into a sly smile as always.

"That's the recreation room for the Espada. You might not want to intrude." He explained. Orihime's face blanched. Her hand snapped out from under Gin's light touch and away from the door.

"I-I thought it was the kitchen. Grimmjow was called away while he was leading me there a-and now I'm lost." Orihime told the tall man, wishing she didn't sound so pathetic. She tended to be a fool around Gin Ichimaru. He confused her to no end. She had seen him once in the Soul Society before he was outed as a traitor, back when she was a wanted ryoka. When he first appeared at the gate to detain their little group, she thought he was adorable with that sweet smile and charming voice. His actions regarding Jidanbo and Ichigo made her uncomfortable, but she thought at the moment that he was just doing his duty as a soul reaper and attempting to stop the ryoka from entering the Seireitei. She had even said a silent thank you to him as she healed Jidanbo, fully aware that he had _let_ them live.

However, after his treachery was revealed at Rukia's execution, her opinion of him had turned completely around. He scared the living daylights out of her. To know that smile was nothing more than a mask… she should have known. It seemed like everyone else did so how was she so blind? Well, everyone but her sweet friend, Rangiku Matsumoto. When the stunning lieutenant gushed about her love for the fox-like man, Orihime was flabbergasted. How could someone as open and kind as Rangiku allow herself to love someone as sneaky and secretive as Gin Ichimaru? She slightly understood the more Rangiku spoke of their childhood, but it still never made complete sense to her.

"The kitchen you say? You hungry?" He asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Um, yes." She answered, unsure of where this was going.

"I'm starving," he enthused. "Wanna eat some ramen with me?" As if to answer his question, Orihime's stomach audibly growled. She hadn't had ramen in ages and the thought made her salivate.

"I'll take that as a yes. Follow me!"

* * *

Gin's wicked smile landed on Orihime as she inhaled the intoxicating scent of the ramen he placed before her. She was once again in that cavernous dining room where she had eaten pizza with Grimmjow. Well, where she had eaten pizza by herself with Grimmjow curiously watching her to be more exact.

"You know, you remind me a lot of someone." He purred. Orihime looked up at him, finding that his previously intimidating demeanor was becoming more and more familiar to her. He almost looked… friendly?

"You mean Rangiku Matsumoto, don't you?" She questioned. For a split second, Gin's smile faltered. If she had blinked, Orihime would have missed it.

"You know my Ran-chan?" He asked. The confidence in his satin voice much less apparent but there was a warmth to his words that the young, romantic girl couldn't miss.

"Of course. I consider her to be one of my good friends." Orihime said softly, reminiscing on all the fun she and the effervescent strawberry blonde had together shopping, cooking, and gossiping. She was the closest thing Orihime had to an older sister and she cared about the woman deeply. When she and Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya had stayed at Orihime's apartment, it had almost been like she had a real family again.

"I'm glad to hear that." Gin cooed. "Ran was always good at making friends. Much better than I was." His smile widened a little with his admission.

"How could you, Gin?" Orihime couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth. Her heart froze in her chest realizing she had no idea how her question would cause the mysterious man across from her to react.

"You know, if you don't eat your ramen now, the noodles will get soggy." His smile remained glued to his face. It was almost as if Orihime had never said anything at all.

"She loves you, Gin. She told me everything. You saved her, raised her, protected her. You gave her a family, a home and a future and she loved you with every inch of her being." Tears pricked Orihime's eyes thinking back on the solemn conversations she had in the wee hours of the morning with her heartbroken friend.

"Let me make myself very clear, Princess. What is between Rangiku and me is none of your concern." His tone was much less mocking now, taking on a serious tilt. Orihime felt her resolve weaken in fear, yet she pushed on.

"I saw you in a dream Grimmjow had about his transformation into an arrancar. I was trying to reject it from his mind when somehow I got pulled in. He said the dream was accurate to how it happened in real life." The everlasting and unchanging smile on Gin's face was causing Orihime to become flustered as she spoke. She fought to maintain her train of thought.

"You were just a child, Ichimaru-sama. You were so small." She whispered. "It's unfair what Aizen did to you. He used you and stole your innocence." She could feel a painful tug working at her heart. She knew all too well how it felt to be abused by adults- specifically father figures. Her's had almost killed her.

"I'm pleased you and our handsome Sixth Espada have gotten so close, my dear. I would have never expected someone as belligerent as he to chat about his tragic past." Gin mused, resting his head against his hand. Orihime wouldn't let him wriggle out of this one by changing the subject.

"Please, you know that's not what I was getting at." She said seriously.

She was taken aback when Gin's wispy hand reached across the table to find hers. His fingers that looked like delicate pieces of glass were much, much stronger than she had anticipated and his porcelain skin that looked as soft as a summer breeze was lightly calloused from hundreds of years wielding a sword. She gasped softly when Gin's once tightly shut eyes slowly opened to reveal a shade of aqua that was so pure and crystalline that they could almost be transparent.

"Listen to me, Orihime. I may have appeared a child to your eyes, but I was not. By then, my innocence was long gone. I knew precisely what I was doing and I made my choices fully understanding the consequences." His voice was the same calculated tenor, cajoling her into complacency with a consistency like honey.

"But Rangiku-"

"I want Rangiku to be happy and safe. She's much too pretty to cry, don't you think?" Though his eyes had snapped back to small slits and his smile had yet to falter, Orihime could not miss the distinct longing in his voice when he spoke of the Squad 10 lieutenant.

"She was happy when she had you, Ichimaru-sama. Besides that, with you by her side she was probably the safest girl in the world. I don't understand why you think doing this is better for her than returning her love and staying with her." The girl was truly confused by this man. Why could he never make sense to her? Rangiku had told her that he was a genius, that he had finished the shinigami academy with ease in only one year and rose to the position of captain quicker than a hiccup. The child prodigy had achieved bankai by the time most kids his age were realizing they even had spiritual pressure. If he was so smart, why was he doing this? The weight of his cool hand was beginning to lighten. She knew he was about to pull away.

"There are some things that are best left in the dark, Orihime. Just know that even though you don't understand my actions, there is a reason and purpose behind everything." His smile grew a little wider and he gave the top of her hand a friendly pat.

"What the hell is this?" Orihime had no idea Grimmjow had made it to the dining room, she was so involved in her conversation with Gin. He stalked over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of her seat. She squeaked in protest as she once again felt her arm yanking with pressure that couldn't have been good for her joints. With the movement, her hand was abruptly pulled away from Gin's.

"Save your mind games for someone who can see past them, Ichimaru." He snarled at the silver-haired man. Orihime momentarily felt insulted. Did he mean she wasn't intelligent enough to read between the lines?

"Relax, Grimmjow. She's all yours." Gin said coyly, twirling a chopstick around his fingers as his other hand provided a spot for his sharp chin to relax. Orihime looked forlornly at her half-eaten bowl of ramen. She could have easily finished the rest, but she knew better than to fight Grimmjow on this. He grunted at Ichimaru and began to lead her away from the table. Before he could get her safely out of the room, Orihime turned her head and lightly smiled at the silver-haired shinigami.

"Thank you, Ichimaru-sama, for rescuing me from the hallway. I would still be lost if you hadn't found me." She said sweetly. Though it was true, she did not understand his motives or the reasons behind his bizarre actions, she could tell from her conversation that his regard for Rangiku Matsumoto was surely one of, if not love, then at least deep friendship. She knew she could walk away from him knowing that though he caused pain and suffering to countless people, Rangiku was the one person in this world that he would never purposely hurt.

Gin lifted his hand at her and waved, his smile still solidly intact. "Bye bye, now."

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AN: So this one is a little different. As you can tell from my username, I have a major and unhealthy thing for Gin Ichimaru, my one true love. I wanted to write a little story about him and Orihime since they both have the Rangiku connection. It's not directly romantic, but I think it offers a new perspective and has a few nice fluffy moments without ruining the integrity of the characters! Grimmjow is still in this, but it's not as GrimmHime as I typically like to write. I hope you still liked it! To make up for it, the next chapters will be without a doubt major GrimmHime ;) I should be posting chapter 5 either tonight or tomorrow!

PS: To those of you darlings who reviewed, I am going to respond to you down here in the AN! I love you all so much, thank you thank you for your support!

Guest: Yes, GrimmHime should never die! I know it's completely unrealistic but gosh, I love them. I'm so happy you liked my color comparisons chapter, I had such a fun time writing it! I hope you keep reading to help me keep the GrimmHime dream alive!

Prick-lyBrit: So happy you're reading! Back in 2008 when I was 15 and writing hella fanfics, I didn't even have to wonder if people were reading my stories because was so hoppin' but now, I was worried I would be tryna tell stories to an empty room! Thank you so much for following me! 3

Chestnutpoby: Ahhhhh I've never written M before, I'm such a prude! I'm going to try to work up the courage to do it, just for you! I'm so glad you love the story!


	5. Chapter 5

QUICK AN: I'm super annoyed bc told me I had 5 comments up from the 3 I had before chapter 4 went up, but I cannot see them. When I click on the reviews, it only shows me the original 3. If any of you know what the issue is, can someone help a sista out? And if you were one of the two people who commented, please know that I am not ignoring you, I just can't see/find your review!

Now that that is out of the way, here is Chapter 5: Lucky Socks

Rated T for language and violence (maybe the fluff is a little T, idk, but I hope you enjoy.)

I do not own Bleach or the characters

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Orihime watched Grimmjow with amusement as he threw his many pairs of black socks all over his floor.

"Grimmjow, you're only making a mess. I don't understand why they're so important." She giggled. He leveled a threatening glare at her.

"These socks are my special socks. I swear they increase the speed of my sonido." He argued, continuing to rip frantically through his wardrobe. He was becoming indiscriminate in which articles of clothing he was beginning to toss away with hakama, underwear and jackets joining the socks on the floor. There was an Espada showcase today that tested their strength, stamina and fighting abilities. This was the mandatory bi-annual event where they received their numbers and Grimmjow had his eye on Nnoitra. He knew without a doubt he could take his #5 rank… but he needed his lucky socks.

"YES! HERE THEY ARE!" He exclaimed in a cry of victory, holding the treasured pair of socks over his head. He had explained to Orihime earlier that the pair of socks stitched together with white thread instead of black breathed better and helped him sonido faster than his regular pairs with black stitching. Apparently after his discovery, he had demanded the head arrancar in charge of creating the clothing for Espada to replicate the socks and make him a few more pairs but when analyzed, there was not one difference between them compared to any of the other socks the department made. The day his "lucky" pair were created, they had just happened to run out of black thread.

"Attention all Espada hopefuls and current Espada, due to last minute scheduling conflicts with Lord Aizen, the Fall Ranking Showcase will be postponed to next week. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope to see you at the Las Noches Grand Arena in section 7E of the palace next Wednesday at 2:30pm. That is all." The Las Noches intercom system boomed.

Grimmjow had been in the middle of pulling on his beloved pair of magic socks when the announcement rang loud and clear through his room, reverberating off the tall ceilings.

"Wha-WHAT?" He cried from his seat on the floor, frustration ringing through his voice. The poor guy had been preparing for this day for months. Just in the past week and a half she had been staying with him, Orihime had noticed he would be gone from his room from the time she received her breakfast in the morning until a couple hours after she had finished her dinner at night. She would be showered and getting ready for bed, er- couch, by the time he would slam the door open and stumble in on weak legs, usually battered and bruised. She had begun not only rejecting his dreams every night before he went to sleep, but now his beaten body as well.

"Damnit. I was all psyched up and everything." He snarled as he suddenly threw his torso backwards to lay in the pile of clothes he had strewn about him. Orihime watched with interest as he beat the floor with his fists and let a string of profanities fly, most directed at Aizen.

"Grimmjow, all this means is that you have another week to get even stronger!" Orihime offered, hoping her sound optimism and logic would calm the angered arrancar.

"But I was ready today!" He whined back at her as he threw his arms up and crossed them over his face. A small smile played at the lips of the young woman. She absolutely could not allow the laugh that was bubbling at the back of her throat to escape. He looked like a spoiled little boy who had been told his baseball game had been rained out. For a moment, Orihime felt more like his mother than his prisoner.

"If only I could have met you when you were a little boy in the world of the living. I'm sure you were a handful." She confessed, hoping he wouldn't rip her to shreds for bringing up his childhood.

"I was a little shit. My mother was a patient woman." Grimmjow said, his voice muffled from the arms that covered his mouth.

"You remember your childhood?" Orihime asked, bewildered at this revelation. From what she had learned, human souls who passed on forgot their lives and began anew. Sure, Grimmjow didn't go the Soul Society route and was originally a hollow but could he really remember his life before death?

"That's what makes certain Gillians so strong and able to become adjuchas. I had my memories and was highly sentient so I was able to outsmart the other average Gillians and evolve. The memories never left. Not even after Aizen turned me into this." He said. He slowly moved his arms down from his face to rest softly on his stomach, right over his hollow hole.

"How long ago did you die?" Orihime asked hesitantly. She was so curious about his past it made her head throb. She hoped he wouldn't mind sharing a few details.

"Around 700 years ago." He said slowly, as if weighing the span of time along with her. She let out a long breath. 700 years? This young, hot-headed guy was ancient.

"Wow…" Orihime breathed. "So you lived during the feudal era… Did you happen to see any white-haired guys with dog ears dressed in red kimonos running around?" She asked with a giggle, remembering the show _Inuyasha_ that she used to watch in the evenings with Sora while he was alive. She adored the character Kagome and used to dream she could shoot pink arrows just like the green-skirted heroine could.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He asked, his brows furrowing in annoyed confusion as he rose to his magic-socked-feet and began collecting the clothes that were strewn around the room. Orihime momentarily felt a warm pang of admiration for him as she realized he was going to clean his own mess instead of calling for a servant.

"Nevermind, it's a joke about something in the world of the living." She explained.

"The only thing I found in the "feudal era", as you call it, was death and war." He said, his voice a hollow shell.

"Were you a soldier? Is that how you died?" Orihime felt instant regret about her _Inuyasha_ comment. She shouldn't have been making jokes when she knew all too well from her classes just how violent and cruel those days in Japanese history were. Back in school, they were just words on a page in a book. Now she was staring those words on a page in a book right in the face. He just happened to have a hole in his stomach and was busy folding clothes after throwing a temper tantrum at not getting his way.

"Tch. You could say that I guess." He muttered as he began placing the newly folded clothes back into the large ebony bureau.

"Did you have any siblings?" Orihime asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"You're not going to leave me alone until I tell you my whole fucking life story, are you?" He asked, clearly ticked off that Orihime would not stop talking. He shoved a pair of neatly folded socks into a drawer, causing the wood to groan under the pressure of his force.

"Now that the showcase is canceled, you have nothing else to do. I'd love to hear about it!" She chirped. To her surprise, all Grimmjow did was sigh and continue folding and organizing.

"Whatever. It's not that interesting but I was born on the 31st of July in the year 1334."

'_A Leo… I would have guessed he would be an Aries..._' Orihime mused to herself, settling into Grimmjow's couch as she prepared to hear about his life before death.

"My dad was a shogun and he owned a shit-ton of land. He was gone a lot of the time on war campaigns so I didn't know him too well but apparently I was his spitting image. My mom was a princess from the Imperial Palace. It was a political marriage, but I think it was a happy one. The Emperor was under a lot of pressure from the shoguns of the time so I think he thought if he sold my mom off to my dad that he would have built-in protection should one of the other shoguns try to attack him. I don't know."

Grimmjow finished the last of his organizing and walked over to the couch to splay himself like a lazy cat over the end opposite from Orihime. He turned his refined face to look up at the ceiling before he continued.

"My mom was a saint and the most beautiful woman I've ever seen to this day. She always wore junihitoe and put flowers in her black hair. It nearly reached her knees in length and I would always want to touch it because it was shinier than the placid water of the lake by our home and blew in the breeze like ribbons of satin." Grimmjow rested his head against the back of the couch, clearly deep in thought about the woman who raised him. Orihime was taken aback and touched by the obvious adoration he had for his mother. She didn't realize he was such a wordsmith, but she guessed growing up the way he apparently did, he had recieved a top-notch education. Not that he always chose to use it...

"I had two kid brothers who were twins and a little sister who was the youngest. My brothers and I were close in age so we would tear through my dad's palace at breakneck speeds and terrorize the servants. We all had Akitas that we would train to sic anyone who said their trigger words. Gosh, those were the days." He reminisced, a small smirk playing on his sculpted lips.

"One day when we were practicing judo with the master swordsman, my brother Naoki nearly put his twin, Jun, in a coma because he was acting like an idiot and swinging his fucking bamboo sword around his head. I thought Junie was never going to wake up and told Naoki that if he died, I would execute him myself via beheading for murder in my father's place. When he tattled and told my mom what I said, she was able to sit down and have a calm discussion with us about "accidents" and "forgiveness" despite Jun knocking on death's door just a few rooms down. Somehow, no matter how big of assholes my brothers and I could be, she continued to love and nurture us more than we deserved."

Orihime felt herself craving proximity to Grimmjow the more he spoke of his past. She hung onto every word, engraving them into her memory. Grimmjow as a child… she wondered if he had blue hair like he did now or if it was black, like his mother. Were his eyes blue or was that a new feature of his as well? What was his name back in those days? She knew it couldn't have been Grimmjow- he was essentially Japanese royalty and none of his brothers had foreign names so he must have had a more traditional name as well. She held her questions to herself though, in fear of him getting angry and not telling her anymore.

"The one person we did not mess with was Masako, my little sister. She was tiny, even for a child her age, and tended to get sick easily. Despite everything though, she was the happiest and most caring person I had ever met. She lit up a room just by walking into it- but maybe that was because she was always wearing a new, brightly colored kimono." He mused with a little laugh, love for his sister softened his normally hard gaze.

"She believed the more elaborate her clothing was, the less sickly she would look. My father bought her new kimonos and had them sent to the palace constantly. One time, he personally returned from the continent with three wagons full of diyi, hanfu, head dresses, jewelry and makeup for "his girls"- my mom and Masako."

"The continent? Do you mean China?" Orihime asked, assuming so since he mentioned diyi and hanfu but wanted to confirm.

"Tch. What the hell is a China?" He asked. Orihime reminded herself that China wasn't called "China" back then. She shook her head and smiled.

"Nevermind. Tell me more!" Orihime encouraged enthusiastically, loving his ever-changing emotions and the vivid descriptions of his incredible past life.

"Well my father's power came from his ability to train and use panthers for war. They were unstoppable. My brothers and I each had our own Akitas as guard dogs and companions that were allowed to live with us in the palace, but we also each had a panther we were tasked with raising and training as well. That's why my father went to the continent so much. That's where our clan got our panthers. Our clan sigil even had a panther on it.

"My panther was named Grimmjow." He smirked. "I don't know how the hell I came up with the name, but as was the custom for every male member of my family, I was gifted him as a cub on my 10th birthday. He could fit into the palm of father's hand, he was so small." Understanding began to shine in Orihime's eyes.

"I adored that animal. He grew up to be a giant. In the 3 years that we went to war together, he never lost a fight. Well, if you call ripping out throats and crushing bones into dust "fighting". He was known far and wide as the last thing you would see on the battlefield before dying and he was black as death. When we fought at night, the enemy was fucked. If the field was too crowded to move through, all he had to do was run ahead of me and my horse and we instantly had a cleared path." Orihime felt herself shiver as the sounds of men screaming and choking on their own blood to the roars of a wildcat filled her mind. How absolutely terrifying.

"He was my best friend next to Budoh, my Akita and my horse, Hoshigin." Grimmjow continued. "He would let me scratch his ears and take naps with him on the warm rocks near our panther den. Sometimes I would swear to my dad that we could speak telepathically. He never told me that was impossible so I'm wondering if that was truly the case. I come from a long line of shoguns and as far back as our family history was remembered, every male member was bonded to panthers."

"Anyway, one day while father was away on political business, my exiled cousin Hideyoshi attacked our palace in a midnight coux with his henchmen. The fucking coward waited until my old man was gone with a quarter of our standing army to make his move. I was 17 at the time and my brothers were 15 so we had all been in battle before, but considering he managed to capture my mom and sister as hostages, there wasn't much we could do without him ordering their death. I still don't know how he had been able to break into the palace and kill the guards. Security was always incredibly tight with the nature of the times and the status of our family. I wonder sometimes if a few of our sentries and servants were traitors."

Orihime felt her stomach turn as a lump filled her throat. Why did she have a feeling they were approaching the end of his story?

"I didn't know it at the time he had cornered me, but both of my brothers had been caught and killed by then. I was on my way with a small stealth team to release Grimmjow and a few other war panthers but before we had reached the den, we were trapped. We fought the best we could, but we were heavily outnumbered. I think Grimmjow could sense the danger I was in because I could hear him roaring from where I was, which was probably around 200 yards away. I found out later that Hideyoshi had hired Mongolian mercenaries to help him take the palace."

Arrancar-form Grimmjow then cleared his throat. Orihime wondered if making him talk about his tragic past was a good idea after all.

"They left me on the ground to bleed to death. I was minutes away from dying. When I was just about to pass out, something heavy hit the ground next to me. I didn't even have to look to know it was Grimmjow. They had killed him and brought him over to me so that we "could die together" because they were "merciful" and wanted to "honor the Panther Prince". What a fucking joke." He said with a scoff.

"I was able to move just enough to bury my face in his fur. Then before I knew I was dead, I was looking down at my lifeless body curled next to Grimmjow's. I had a chain coming out of my chest. It didn't take long for his spirit to join mine."

Grimmjow's eyes shone slightly. Orihime knew he would never, ever cry, but just that light sheen was enough to make her own solitary tear fall down her cheek.

"I didn't pass on to the Soul Society because of how sudden and violent my death was. I had to have vengeance before I could completely leave the world of the living. I stayed at the palace for a few hours to make sure my cousin didn't murder my mom and sister and when I felt like he wouldn't harm them, I left with Grimmjow to find my father. It took a week of travel but I got lucky and found an old woman in the area with enough spiritual energy to see us. She was able to relay the message of what had happened to my father and he immediately raced home to destroy Hideyoshi. I'll never forget his cries of apology to my brothers and me when he finally found the alone time to mourn us. I think that was the first time my father had cried in his entire life."

By this time, the tears were falling freely from Orihime's eyes. She knew Grimmjow's story was going to be sad, but this was almost too much for her to bear.

"By the time my father finally made it back to the palace, Hideyoshi had forced my sister to marry him and my mother was on the brink of death from abuse. I have a feeling she had been beaten and raped within an inch of her life by Hideyoshi's men and I know that she had refused to eat. My father was able to rally his men and kill Hideyoshi but the damage was done. My sister ended up pregnant and she died birthing that monster's child. In the almost year that Grimmjow and I remained spirits in the world of the living, my father still hadn't been able to bring my mother back from her tragedy-induced insanity and depression.

"Finally, the chains that held Grimmjow and I down to the world were nearly gone but we were still too distraught and vengeful to move on. Hideyoshi's death was not enough. I wanted to kill him with my own hands. I wanted to let Grimmjow feast on his flesh, slowly so that he remained aware of his own consumption by panther for days. I wanted to hold my mother one more time and protect her. I wanted to see my sister find a real, loving husband. I had failed her, my mother, my younger brothers, my father, and Grimmjow. I had failed my entire family and our people. I had failed myself." Grimmjow's eyes narrowed and stared at the wall across from him with an intensity that took Orihime's breath away.

"I finally hollowfied, holding as tightly as I could to Grimmjow. I don't know how it happened, but our spirits merged during the process and we became one. I don't know what happened to my mother and father but the last time I was in the world of the living, I went to visit our palace and it had been turned into something called a "moo-zim". There were people everywhere, going in our private quarters and walking around our gardens. The panther den was gone. I could barely recognize it.

"When I became an adjuchas, I discarded my old name and took the name Grimmjow. I wanted to leave everything in the past. By shedding my human name, I destroyed the last of the weakness that led to the demise of my family. The name Kenichi means nothing to me now. It's just a shadow of the past. The name given to a newborn baby boy in memory of me. The same baby boy who died only hours after he took my sister's fragile life." He laughed bitterly.

"Kenichi? That was your name..." Orihime whispered, her crying stopping her from speaking any louder.

"My name is Grimmjow." The blue-haired man across from her said with a scowl. Orihime nodded her head and fearlessly crawled across the couch toward his lounging frame.

"What are you-" He asked, cut off by her small, shaking frame pressing into his. He could feel her hot tears spill on his chest as her head snuggled and pressed where his white jacket opened, revealing the exposed skin.

"What the hell are you doing, woman?" He finished his question as her arms slid around his waist and she relaxed against his body, still crying but now a touch softer.

"Will you please just let me hold you?" She asked between tear-induced hiccups. "I know you're strong and don't need a hug but this is for me. Please?"

He rolled his eyes. He guessed this _was_ his fault. He didn't have to tell her the whole story. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her in return and lowered himself from his upright position so that they were laying on the couch. She pulled herself as flush against him as she could possibly manage, as if she was trying to merge her body into his. He felt her warm lips and thick, wet eyelashes tickle his sternum, sending a blaze of heat through his entire being. He bent his focus on not letting the sensation get to him so that he wouldn't do anything rash to the distraught girl; desperation wasn't his style. He realized she had stopped crying at the same moment he realized she had fallen asleep. When he knew she would not be awake to remember it, he stroked her silky copper hair with one hand and grazed his fingertips firmly along the bottom of her spine with the other. He allowed himself to silently and stoically grieve for his family as he breathed in her comforting floral scent.

He hadn't let it show during his tale but that was the first time he had ever told anyone the story of his past. He hadn't really given it much thought since taking his beloved panther's name in his adjuchas days. He could feel the beast roaring in his heart and soul, giving him comfort and the pain of longing simultaneously. He was lucky that through the merging of their hollowfied souls, Grimmjow the panther had become the spirit of his Zanpakuto, Pantera. Whenever he wanted to sink his fingers into that black, inky fur or take a warm nap next to him outside the panther den, all he had to do was enter his inner world- the inner world that looked nearly identical to the grounds of his childhood home. He decided this nap with Orihime would have to do as he tightened his arms around her and nuzzled his face into her hair, inhaling deeply. He was thankful she had fallen asleep so easily because nothing could have pulled him out of his despair more effectively than the feel of the small girl against his body.

"Thank you for being here, Orihime. Thank you for listening." He whispered lowly, closing his eyes so he could join her in sleep.

A small smile played on Orihime's lips. She could never let him know that she was not truly asleep the entire time he cuddled her, but the butterflies in her stomach and the way her heart was about to beat out of her chest was making it almost impossible to remain calm. She turned her head into his chest to place a covert kiss above his heart, wishing in vain that they could remain like this forever. Stifling the gasp of understanding that rose to her throat, she realized suddenly that Grimmjow was correct. Those socks with the white thread really were lucky.


	6. Chapter 6

OH HOT DANG IT'S CHAPTER 6 YALL.

-If periods make you uncomfy or queasy, skip this one- (and I don't mean the punctuation marks heh heh)

-it's cute tho so idk I'd give it a read-

-I don't own Bleach or the characters-

-Rated T for language and a little of the fluffy stuff (also hints at the birds and the bees) - for all my M lovers out there, I'M REVVING UP OKAY? :D

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The Depth of Blue Chapter 6: Shark Week Hoo Hah Hah

In the history of bad times to start your period, this one had to take the cake. Orihime was surrounded by cold-blooded killing machines, trapped in a dimension of death that was filled to the brim with demonic hollow souls, being detained as a prisoner by a man who wanted to destroy her hometown, and she was wearing ALL. WHITE. The young woman cringed at the sight of the small, light pink stain in her underwear. She should have known with the slight cramps she was getting yesterday that her time of the month was coming but she had her head in the clouds, as usual, and decided to write them off as having eaten too much at dinner. She had been extra hungry… now she understood why.

She knew she had at least a few hours before her flow picked up enough to become problematic but this was a major predicament. She didn't think in her 12 hour good-bye to planet Earth that she should pack tampons or pads for her staycation in Hueco Mundo. Why, you ask? She had no clue. She wanted to bang her head against the wall. She was almost 16. She had been having her period for three years now. She should be well aware that it happens every month.

She knew what she had to do. She just really, really didn't want to do it. Besides, Grimmjow had been gone since yesterday morning taking some newborn arrancar out into the desert plains of Hueco Mundo to test their abilities with Yammy and Starrk. She was absolutely not about to ask the two guards he stationed outside his door for help, either. He said he would be back early this afternoon, which would be right on time to get in a majority of his daily Espada Showcase training. Orihime marveled at the guy's energy level. Even after spending over 24 hours in the great outdoors, he still wanted to train. Orihime could only imagine how exhausted she would be after an ordeal like that. In fact, a nap sounded really good about now.

She looked at her watch and realized Grimmjow could burst through the door any minute as it was currently 1:18pm. She wrapped up a piece of toilet paper and placed it strategically in her underwear to catch anything that might cause her trouble later. She silently hoped Grimmjow would be home soon so that she could get more suitable materials for her condition. As Orihime shuffled over to the couch, about to lay down with Grimmjow's duvet to take a nap, a major cramp hit her and she had to muffle a groan of pain. She always got horrible cramps and she was dreading the worse ones that were bound to follow. With a whimper of despair, Orihime laid down on the couch and snuggled into the fluffy cover. After suffering through a few more waves of nausea and lower stomach pain, her mind finally turned off.

* * *

"Tch. Don't get mad at me because that cero was about to blow your head off, Starrk. Maybe you should pay more attention during field training instead of trying to nap in the sand." Grimmjow growled at the man with shaggy brown hair.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just start trying to avoid field training all together. It seems a more fitting job for Yammy than for us anyway." Starrk drawled, clearly still vying for a nice nap. Grimmjow smirked.

"Hah good point. See you later." He said as the two Espada split ways to head to their quarters. It had been a long 30 hours of training and feeding the newborns and Grimmjow was more than ready for a shower. As if he had been smacked in the face with a bag of bricks, the most intoxicating scent hit his nose. The smell only escalated the closer he drew to his bedroom. Approaching from the long hallway, it felt as if a hook had dug itself in his nose and was now dragging him towards the door. He closed his eyes and tried to place the scent. It was feminine and coy.

It wasn't artificial like soap or perfume, it was natural. It was… hormonal. It smelled absolutely _fertile_. He inhaled deeply, allowing the fragrance to wash over him and tickle his senses with it's alluring, sweet musk. He knew it was coming from his room without a doubt, but what could be producing it? Surely it wasn't the woman. He would never admit it, she always smelled delicious, but this was something else entirely. He stumbled into the door, uncharacteristically clumsy for him, and slowly pulled it open, not sure what he would see on the other side.

Orihime was passed out on his couch, wrapped in his duvet like she was a caterpillar in a cocoon. Sure enough, the smell was coming directly from where she was lying. How could such an awkward and silly girl produce such a seductive and sensual smell? Grimmjow couldn't stop his feet as he stalked toward her sleeping form, completely against his will. When he got closer, the sharp, metallic tang of blood began to mingle with the scent of her hormones. Confusion crossed his face as he wondered if she had cut herself with the knife again at lunch or gotten into an altercation. He crouched to be face to face with her and began to sniff lightly. Her hair smelled like his shampoo and her skin smelled like his body wash, no difference there so he trailed his nose down and focused harder to get her scent through the thick comforter. He was still getting hints of the blood and realized as he moved further down her body, the smell got stronger. As the coppery scent reached its peak potency, he realized his face was zoned in on her pelvis.

'_Ohhhhhhhhh'_

"G-Grimmjow… what on Earth are you doing?" Her light, panicked voice shot through his mind like a spear, catching him off guard and causing him to fall backwards from his squatting position to his rear end. He squashed his embarrassment the best he could before leveling the stunned girl with a heated glare.

"I was making sure you weren't dying of blood-loss on my couch, woman." He growled at her. "I could smell your blood the minute I walked through the door." He watched with amusement as the look in Orihime's eyes went from shock and confusion to pure mortification. Her cheeks blazed with embarrassment as she looked away from him.

"A-actually I need to ask you about that." Orihime stuttered, pushing some hair that had been freed during her nap behind her ear.

"Why would you ask _me_ about your heat cycle? The only thing I know is that if you're wanting to get pregnant we should start mating as soon as your bleeding is over." He said matter-of-factly.

"Grimmjow!" Orihime cried, clearly traumatized. "What are you saying?!"

"Why are you yelling at me? You're lucky I'm even willing to help you out. Thanks to my genetics, our cubs will be handsome and strong." He smirked. Orihime's mouth hung open so wide, a whole school of fish could have swam through. Grimmjow was joking- okay, half joking- but he still didn't understand why she was acting so shocked.

"I don't want to get pregnant, I want to get tampons!" She shouted, regretting her volume when the word 'tampons' shrilly echoed off the tall ceilings.

"What is a tampon and why are you not more concerned about the time crunch?" Grimmjow asked, his head tilting to the side with his curiosity. The cuteness of this action contrasted with the annoyance in his eyes, like a little boy who couldn't figure out why the sky is blue.

"What time crunch are you talking about?" Orihime asked, wanting to understand his strange behavior shift.

"From what I've heard, females only go into heat twice in their lives. I'm assuming this is your first time so you only have one more opportunity to mate after this. It lasts two weeks, right?" He asked her, his voice not carrying it's usual haughty tone as he seemed to truly desire an explanation of what was happening to her body.

"This happens to me once every month, Grimmjow… where did you get the 'twice in a lifetime' idea?" She asked, perplexed that this was Grimmjow's understanding of the female reproductive cycle. She wanted to laugh, but knew she should only do that if she had a death wish.

"Once a month?" He asked, disbelieving. "How do you go into heat so often?"

"A majority of women have a period every month starting in their early teen years." Orihime explained, thought she was beginning to put two and two together.

"That is, I can only speak for human women." She prefaced. "Do hollow women go into heat only twice in their lives?"

"Only Vasto Lorde women go into heat. Gillians and adjuchas don't have reproductive systems. When two Vasto Lordes mate, they create another Vasto Lorde. That's apparently how Ulquiorra was born.." Grimmjow explained. "It's rare to be born a Vasto Lorde. There are already so few of them and women rarely make it to that level. On top of that, there are only four weeks of her life she can become pregnant and they are split up into two heat cycles." Orihime nodded her head at Grimmjow's lesson on hollow biology, somewhat surprised that he knew so much about how it all worked in their dimension.

"I guess that explains the importance of taking advantage of those two weeks then." Orihime giggled. "I didn't realize you guys could have babies!" She gushed, smiling as she put her hands to her cheeks, imagining tiny little Grimmjows and Ulquiorras with bones on their heads and faces, launching miniature ceros at their stuffed animals. She sighed at her precious mental image.

"I don't know who you mean by "you guys" but no one here in Las Noches can have babies." Grimmjow said, putting an abrupt end to Orihime's day dream.

"But you said-"

"I said Vasto Lorde women go into heat. When Aizen created female arrancar, he didn't allow them to have reproductive systems. We're soldiers, we can't be having kids." He explained, a little more solemnly than usual.

"So why are you trying to mate with me if you can't have kids?" She asked him, trying her best to figure out this guy's motives. She felt a soft sadness thinking about how much of a savage someone as refined as Aizen could be. Taking away the arrancar's chances at having babies? How cruel can someone be?

"Actually, the males got to keep everything. Testosterone makes you strong, you know."

"That seems really unfair…" Orihime mused, upset that sexism was clearly an issue at the Night Palace. She thought Hallibel should start a Women's Arrancar Association like the one they had for the Shinigami.

"Life is unfair, Princess. And so is death." He said as she pouted at him.

"Well, I have plenty of opportunities to get pregnant, I'm in no rush." She said awkwardly, waving her hands back and forth in front of her face with her almost permanent blush. Grimmjow smirked at her.

"Your loss. Human or arrancar, with the DNA I carry, I'm a dream mate." He stood from his seat on the floor and walked away from her to the door of his bathroom.

"Hey Grimmjow there is a problem though." She mumbled, her tummy doing somersaults with what she had to ask him next.

"When is there ever not a problem with you, Princess?" He answered, aggravation apparent.

"I still need tampons but… I left them in the world of the living." She said meekly, just above a whisper. If it wasn't for his sharp hearing, she didn't think he would have been able to hear her.

"I won't ask again. What is a fucking tampon?" He snapped. Orihime cringed and explained the modern-day marvel to the Espada member with humiliation. She peeked up over the back of the couch to look at him standing at the bathroom door, dread filling her being but she needed to see his face. He looked mortified. This guy... she had seen him bathed in blood after battle and yet the idea of a little piece of cotton meant to catch her small amount of blood made him queasy? What a hypocrite.

"Can it wait until after I wash the sand and sweat off my body? I'll have to get permission to go to the world of the living." He sighed in exasperation, clearly put out by the prospect of having to go through the time-consuming process of getting through a garganta, going to a shop, finding what she needed, and coming back. Despite everything, her face lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, thank you Grimmjow!" She chirped, relieved that he didn't make too much of a fuss.

"Tch. Better getting the damn things than letting you bleeding all over my room." His nose wrinkled and with that, he closed the bathroom door behind him.

* * *

'_-Midol_

_-Tampax Pearl Regular absorbancy_

_-Cookie dough ice cream'_

"Meedol, what the fuck is a meedol?" Grimmjow asked as he glanced over the list of items Orihime had made for him to purchase from the world of the living.

"It's pronounced My-dol." She explained. "It's medicine. It helps with the cramps." Her face flushed again and she looked down at the floor. He didn't understand what was so embarrassing about cramps. He got them too sometimes when he didn't warm up enough before workouts. He rolled his eyes.

"Tampax- is that the tampons? They're made of pearl? Wouldn't that hurt going up?" He asked with widened eyes, seemingly disturbed. Orihime bit her lip to stop herself from laughing out right. He was being so accommodating by doing this for her, she didn't want to make him upset.

"That's just the name of them, they're not really made of pearl." She explained, not going into further detail so that she wouldn't have to try to explain plastic to him.

"And coo-kie-dough ice cream." He pronounced the last item off the list and groaned in displeasure. "Dammit, why wouldn't they let you come with me? I have no idea what any of this crap is. What are you gonna do? Try to run away from me? Tch." He complained, wishing he had never sent that cero into the stupid girl's wall. If he hadn't done that, his temporary duties to feed her would have ended days ago and this would be Ulquiorra's problem.

"What would be the harm in just taking me and asking for forgiveness later?" She questioned him with a sweet smile on her face. She definitely wouldn't mind going back to her world, even if just for a little bit. She knew should wouldn't be able to see her friends and she would have to wear the masking bracelet, but it would absolutely be worth it just to get out of Hueco Mundo for an hour or two. Grimmjow quirked a blue brow at her.

"You want me to get my arm chopped off again?" He asked her sharply.

"I can just bring it back!" She chirped, her smile growing larger. Grimmjow's mind suddenly flashed back to that moment in the meeting room when Tosen threatened him with another amputation and he responded by telling him that he would just 'have his sweet little wife bring it back again'. Did she know about that? He doubted it, but how strange.

"You're assuming they will allow you to continue staying with me after I sneak you out for an unauthorized joy ride. What if Aizen's Plan C is handing you off to Nnoitra?" If Grimmjow didn't face certain harsh punishment, this may have been a good way to rid himself of the girl who slept on his couch every night and used up all of his shampoo. However, he liked having both arms and if he was being honest with himself, he had become accustomed to having her around as company. Things had gotten pretty lonely for the Sixth Espada after his fraccion were all killed.

"You're right…" She sighed. "You're a cute boy, Grimmjow. Just find a young female employee at the store and give her the list. She'll help you get everything for sure." Orihime wiggled her brows at the man and winked at him suggestively.

"_Cute boy?_" He ground out, clenching his teeth together to stop himself from saying words that would shock the innocent girl so much she might end up in a coma.

"It's a phrase we use in the world of the living." She explained. She raised her joined hands to her face and closed her eyes, daydreaming. "Any handsome man in the world of the living could be called a 'cute boy'." She sighed. He assumed she was thinking about all the "cute boys".

"Just stop that already. I'll be back." He snapped as he folded up the list and put it in his pocket. He threw a large bag over his shoulder. She assumed it held his gigai. She wished she could see him in it, but she dared not ask.

When he had finally left the room, Orihime sank back into the couch, already feeling slightly lonely again. He had only just returned. What a shame he had to leave so soon.

* * *

There wasn't much Grimmjow hated more than having to wear his gigai. The thing felt suffocating and it tickled his skin with every movement he made. From the moment he had to put it on before entering the Garganta, his breathing had become more shallow, he felt sluggish, and his strength was all but zapped. The inconvenient fake body completely concealed his spiritual pressure so that he could not be identified, which is why the rule of having to put it on before entering the Garganta to go to the human world and not taking it off until returning to Hueco Mundo was one of Aizen's most strictly enforced rules.

By the time he stepped out of the Garganta, Grimmjow was on the verge of having a claustrophobia-induced panic attack. He mentally chastised himself for being such a little bitch and took in his surroundings. His sense of smell was diminished but he could still pick up the warm scent of street food and the acrid odor of motor vehicles. The world of the living was a strange, smelly and loud place.

As he walked down the streets to find the shop he and any other residents of Hueco Mundo usually went to when they needed to get supplies, he noticed the people who walked past him staring openly. He was used to this as his gigai didn't shorten him like Nnoitra's did and he stood head and shoulders above most people here. That didn't stop him from wondering if the humans could tell his body wasn't real. His clothes were simple and casual: a white t-shirt, grey hooded jacket and a pair of black joggers that stopped at his ankles along with a pair of blue and white tennis shoes. The gigai masked his bone fragment and eyemarkings and turned his blue hair and eyes a dark shade of brown so that he could blend in. He knew he looked like everyone else, so that left him confused as to why he received so much attention.

The Family Mart he had been to a few times came up on his right and he turned to enter the always intriguing doors that opened automatically for him without even having to touch anything. Humans were stupid and weak but he had to admit, they did have some pretty interesting inventions. He looked at the list Orihime had written for him in ridiculously girly handwriting. To his disgust, he noticed she had even doodled a small, smiling cat at the bottom and labeled it 'Thanks Grimmy-kun'. Who the hell was this girl and what was wrong with her?

'_Midol'_

Grimmjow remembered her saying this was a medicine. He appreciated that Family Mart labeled their isles as he looked at the signs above each of them. Finding the medication aisle, he went down it, overwhelmed by all the little bottles and their countless uses. He wondered with slight amusement if he should grab the pills meant for headaches as he had a huge migraine living with him currently in what should have been his private quarters.

'_Sore throat…'_

'_Coughing…'_

'_Indigestion…' _

None of these were right. How the hell was he supposed to find what she needed? The sound of giggles coming from the entrance of the isle interrupted his brooding. He turned his head in the direction of the sound to see what the disturbance was. Two young girls in scanty outfits similar to the one Orihime had come to Hueco Mundo in were peeking around the corner at him, covering their mouths as they laughed. _'What the hell is their problem?'_ He wondered, annoyed at their presence. He scowled at them, but they only giggled more and ran away with pink faces. He didn't understand, were they insane? He shook his head and returned to his search for the mee-dol.

"Excuse me, sir." A small voice said next to him. He cursed the loss of his sharp sense of hearing and smell as he whipped his head around to see a woman looking up at him with a pleasant smile. She was older than the two girls who were gawking at him a few minutes ago and she wore a shirt that said 'Family Mart' on it, clearly an employee.

"What?" He snapped at her, probably more rudely than he had to be but he didn't care. She flinched slightly but her smile stayed put.

"Is there anything I can help you find?" She asked politely. Grimmjow remembered Orihime telling him that if he found a female employee, she would undoubtedly go out of her way to help him should he give her the list. He internally smirked and decided to put her theory to the test. He handed the list to the woman and gave her a smile that he hoped looked more approachable than murderous.

"Can you help me find these items?" He asked her. Her eyes scanned the list and he watched her face light up with a genuine smile.

"What a great boyfriend you are!" She nearly squealed. "Your girlfriend is such a lucky girl to have someone like you who would go shopping for her!" She mimicked Orihime's earlier pose of closing her eyes and putting her clasped hands to her face. Grimmjow had to fight the urge to scoff at her and roll his eyes. He didn't have the patience to explain that no, this wasn't for his girlfriend it was for his prisoner.

"Follow me!" She chirped as she nearly skipped down the aisle. He was surprised at how quickly she was able to find the small bottle of pills called 'Midol'. The logo was pink and sure enough, the benefits listed on the package mentioned 'cramp relief'.

"Okay so the next one is just right around the corner on the next aisle!" The woman exclaimed as he continued to follow her to retrieve the rest of the items. In less than 3 minutes, he was holding everything he needed. He hated having to ask for help but he had to admit, she knocked it out faster than he ever could have. They made it back to the metal contraption on the front desk and she rang up the items.

"That will be 1,495 yen and .96 cents, please." She said as he handed over the money he grabbed from the Las Noches "cash stash" all the Espada used when they needed to purchase things from the world of the living. He always wondered how Aizen kept it constantly stocked but he never actually asked.

"Oh out of 10,000 yen? Let me go to the back and get you change!" She said. Grimmjow was at the end of his patience. He wanted out of his stupid gigai as soon as possible so he grabbed the bag and started to walk away.

"Don't worry about it." He said.

"But sir!" She yelled after him, though it was futile as he had already left the store. He didn't know why it was such a big deal. It was just some stupid pieces of smelly paper. He didn't need his sharp, cat-like nose to know that. He walked back down the street to make it to the isolated park where he normally summoned his garganta. With the tap of a finger, the ripping sound pierced the air and the zipper-like formation of the familiar black abyss appeared. As the portal opened, he stepped through and began his journey back home.

* * *

The cramps Orihime was beginning to experience were taking her breath away. She couldn't even eat her dinner when it was delivered because she couldn't sit up from her fetal position on the couch. Nenna had brought her the food and had looked concerned by Orihime's pained state, but as she had never gone into heat before and never would, she had no idea what to do to help. Orihime began to worry about what she would do if she had to go without a tampon for much longer. She had to change the makeshift pad twice now and could tell she was already about to need to switch it out again. As another cramp twisted her insides, she clamped her eyes shut and whimpered. Unfortunately, Orihime suffered from pretty brutal bouts of endometriosis and it seemed this month would be no different.

"Hey Princess, I need you to help me get this damn thing off." Grimmjow's voice boomed through the room as his door suddenly opened, causing the suffering young girl to jump in her feverish attempt at rest.

"Still laying around? Damn, you're lazy today." He muttered as he looked closer at her form. "You look like you're dying. What's wrong with you?" He asked bluntly. Orihime was sure she was covered in sweat and all the color had left her face. She knew she was a very unappealing sight at the moment.

"Just cramps, I'll live." She said breathlessly, trying to find strength through the pain. She slowly sat up and looked at the arrancar who had just come inside. Wait, this wasn't Grimmjow… She squealed and scampered to the end of the couch furthest from him. She peeked over the back to get a better look at the intruder who was currently scowling at her.

"It's me, idiot." He growled. That was definitely the voice she knew, but the black hair and brown eyes adorning this man were not Grimmjow's… his bone fragment and face markings were also completely gone.

"Is that your gigai?" She asked, amazed as she realized this truly was Grimmjow. He had no spiritual energy and if she didn't know any better, she would have guessed this was a human who had somehow made it to Hueco Mundo.

"What the hell else would it be?" He asked her rudely. Yes, this was indeed the Sixth Espada. "Now help me get it off, my foot is stuck."

Orihime weakly stood from the couch, attempting to even out her ragged breathing as another cramp took hold of her insides. She stopped walking and grabbed the arm of the couch to steady herself, closing her eyes for a second to regain composure. Grimmjow watched her curiously as she nearly succumbed to these cramps she was complaining about. On second thought, maybe he didn't get these when he didn't warm up enough before workouts. What she was going through seemed to be a completely different situation. Before he could tell her to forget it, she was in front of him.

"Okay, what do you need me to do?" She asked sweetly, trying to conceal her agony. She may have been a pathetic human, but Grimmjow had to hand it to her, she wasn't a complete weakling.

"Just sit on the floor and hold my left foot." He instructed. "I'm going to pull out of it so hold as tight as you can." He slid off the tennis shoe on his gigai and held out his socked foot to the young woman. She held onto his ankle by wrapping both of her arms around it and braced herself. She watched as his sky blue hair began to peek out the back of the head of his obsidian-haired doppelgänger. Soon, his head, shoulders, and torso were all exposed and he easily slid his right foot out of the leg of the gigai.

"Okay, I'm going to wiggle my left foot so hold on." He warned as he leaned back and began to pull forcibly on his left leg. Concentration marred his face as he focused on how to best maneuver his limb to free his foot. Orihime pulled back slightly to create more force in the pull and finally, after a few minutes of twisting and yanking, Grimmjow's foot was freed from the fleshy prison.

"FINALLY." He breathed as he rotated his left foot a few times, trying to work out the soreness of his ankle from where it had been abused. "I have to remember to start taking off my shoes before putting this stupid thing on, they always get caught." He muttered, throwing the body back into the bag and pushing it under his bed. Orihime watched his actions with horror, deciding he looked like a deranged serial killer hiding his latest victim. Not noticing the way his eyes flashed suddenly with a hunger he could not control and his head snap in her direction to inhale deeply, she saw the bag filled with her goodies laying on the floor. Her eyes lighting up in pleasure as she realized he had found everything she needed.

"Grimmjow, thank you thank you!" She cried as she snatched up the plastic handles and all but ran to the bathroom, ignoring the protestations from her uterus. After setting things straight with her nether regions, she swallowed one of her precious pills using Grimmjow's water cup by the sink. She realized she would have to find a covert way to discard the tampon after it was used as she definitely couldn't flush it and probably couldn't just leave it in the trashcan in his bathroom. That would be pretty gross with his sense of smell. She decided she could change it out three times a day right before her meals were delivered and could ask the servants who brought her food and cleaned the room to take it with them to the Las Noches trash pit. That was still not an ideal option, but as long as she wrapped it up and put it in a trash bag, it shouldn't be too bad, right? None of them had Grimmjow's nose as far as she knew. After washing up and attempting to fix her bedhead, Orihime left the bathroom and went to grab the spoon from her untouched dinner, excited to eat some ice cream.

"Orihime." Grimmjow's husky voice danced in her ear as he was in front of her in a heartbeat, snatching her up into his arms and nuzzling his face into her neck, breathing her in as deeply as his lungs would allow him. Her eyes widened in surprise and she squealed in shock- as well as from the tickling sensation on her neck as his warm breath flitted over her sensitive skin.

"G-Grimmjow…" She breathed as she stood stiffly in his rock-solid embrace. She had never been held like this by a man before. It sent shockwaves through her body and caused the butterflies in her stomach to go wild. Her hands clenched the white fabric of his jacket so tightly her knuckles began to turn white but if she couldn't steady her knees, she would have collapsed against him… Not that his arms wouldn't have been able to keep her up, they were around her so securely.

"This isn't going to work." He ground out lowly as his hands slowly began to move from the small of her back to firmly grasp her slender shoulders, almost completely engulfing them with their size. He looked into her eyes with his. The electric blue pools that normally twinkled with contempt and mischief had darkened into two howling typhoons of hunger and need. They were so intense that it felt like they were burning her alive. She found herself unable to breathe.

"What do you mean?" She asked softly, strangely disappointed the warm embrace had ended. He closed his eyes and swallowed, clearly attempting to school his emotions but seeming to fail.

"I mean you can't stay here. We need to be separated, immediately." He said sternly, though his voice cracked over the word 'immediately'.

"But why?" She pushed back, slightly concerned at his uneasy state.

"Your scent, Orihime. It's gotten much stronger since before I left and I don't think I can control my actions around you anymore. How long does it last?" Orihime blushed and she began to feel nervous. He wouldn't seriously do anything to her… would he?

"U-um 4 to 5 days, usually." She stuttered. She watched him fight against himself as he put all his effort into peeling his hands off her shoulders and began to back away from her as if she had the plague. He held on to one of the posts on his bed as if to anchor himself down and began to think.

"Your room is clean now but the wall is still damaged. Seki seki isn't easy to come by in Hueco Mundo and apparently it will take a few months to finish so sending you back there isn't an option, especially since there are a couple other animal-spirit arrancar living here in Las Noches…" He said aloud. "The closest room to mine is Ulquiorra's but like hell you're going to stay there." He said gruffly, almost in a protective manner. Orihime wondered momentarily if the thought was making him jealous.

"It would make the most sense to send you to stay with Hallibel but considering she has a shark spirit, your bleeding might set her off so that's also not an option." Grimmjow continued, scratching his head. Suddenly, his bright blue eyes snapped open and she could almost see a light bulb appear over his head.

"Get in the shower." He commanded her. Orihime frowned at him, almost offended. Did she smell bad? No, that was stupid. He was just all over her so clearly her smelling offensive wasn't the issue.

"Okay…" She said, making her way back to the bathroom, slightly disappointed her ice cream binge would have to wait.

"Use as much shampoo and body wash as you can. Don't hold back. I should be getting more tomorrow anyway." He instructed her as he went to his bureau. She nodded her head obediently and disappeared into the bathroom to do as she was told. When she had finished dousing herself in his shower products and scalding herself in the hottest water she could stand, she got out and toweled off. Suddenly, the bathroom door slightly opened and a huge pile of clothing was tossed onto the counter. Orihime reflexively pulled the towel around her tightly to try to protect her modesty, but Grimmjow never fully entered the room to her relief.

"Put all of that on." He said before closing the door again. Orihime noticed he sounded almost like he was in pain. The poor guy… she felt terrible for the discomfort she was causing him. She looked through the articles of clothing he had brought to her. She blushed when she lifted a pair of one of his underwear but slid it on anyway, having to pull the sash around them much tighter than he did to keep them up. After those were secured, she wrapped the sleeping yukata around herself and then pulled the pair of hakama up over it. He had also given her one of his black pairs of socks and one of his jackets. She realized, slightly amused, that he was trying to mask her scent with his own. She pulled on each of the socks and then slid her arms into the jacket. By the time she was done dressing, she looked absolutely ridiculous yet smelled absolutely delicious- at least to her own nose. She was worried this plan of his wouldn't work but braved leaving the bathroom anyway.

She walked out hesitantly to find him sitting on his bed with Pantera laying across his knees. When his exaggerated scent slapped him across the face with her presence, one of his eyes cracked open. A small, mocking smile spread across his face as he looked at her, completely covered head-to-toe in the layers of his clothing. He snorted a quick laugh and closed his eye to resume... whatever he was doing. She had noticed the comforter she was wrapped in earlier had been taken away and a new one had been folded pristinely over the arm of one of his chairs. Her dinner had also been taken away. She was about to ask him if any of the silverware remained when she noticed her tub of ice cream had been placed in a bucket of ice and a spoon sat next to it, atop a napkin. She smiled softly to herself, knowing only Nenna was capable of such thoughtful actions. She figured Grimmjow had ordered the fresh duvet. The last one was probably saturated in her scent.

She had a feeling Grimmjow didn't want to be bothered as he appeared to be meditating so Orihime wrapped herself up in the new duvet and grabbed the carton of sweet goodness. After a few sinful bites, she heard Grimmjow groan in displeasure.

"My plan was working perfectly until now." He grunted. "Stupid asshole." He cursed as she heard his zanpakuto crash into the wall. Orihime looked around the hood the comforter created over her head to see him walk quickly over to the sword and gingerly pick it up.

"Sorry buddy, I'm just frustrated." He mumbled almost incoherently to the seemingly inanimate object, though from her experience with soul reapers, Orihime knew much better than that. Grimmjow was a hollow/soul reaper hybrid, after all, maybe he really could talk to Pantera. That was probably what he was doing when he was sitting cross-legged on his bed.

She watched him curiously as he took the sword into his bathroom. He didn't shut the door so she was able to watch him until he went deep enough to disappear from her line of vision. When he returned to the main area of his quarters, she realized he had left the sword behind.

"What did you do with Pantera?" She asked him. He looked at her with eyes that were once again glossed over with desire, though this time, he maintained his distance. She felt radioactive and it made a lump form in her stomach. She didn't like his new uneasiness around her.

"I realized I wouldn't be acting like this if my spirit wasn't a panther." Grimmjow said, his voice strained. "So I spoke to Pantera and he said if he can keep his distance from you, I won't be back to normal but I will be less spastic. I just don't know if the bathroom will be far enough."

"I see." She said thoughtfully, wondering at the intricacies of Grimmjow's relationship with the panther in his sword but deciding against interrogating him on it.

"I would take him further away, but I can't just leave my zanpakuto lying around somewhere." He said, exasperated by his lack of options as he ran a shaky hand through his downy soft hair. Orihime understood the predicament completely. Zanpakutos were the most valuable object a soul reaper, or arrancar, had. They were connected, mind, body and spirit to their swords and to separated from it was detrimental. It was their life line. You couldn't put a price on a zanpakuto.

"It's alright, Grimmjow. I wouldn't distance myself from my hairpins either, so I understand." She said softly, wishing so badly she could put him at ease. How nice would it be if she could reject her period, but what would be the consequences of such an action? She found herself humored by the thought of Shun Shun Rikka birth control. The young woman placed the carton of ice cream back into the ice bucket and set down the spoon, her cravings subsided.

With the liberation of her arm from her duvet cocoon along with the sleeve of the jacket pushing her scent in Grimmjow's direction as it shifted with her movement, he found himself swimming in the sweetness of her essence once again. His mind fogged over as the judgement he had fought tooth and nail for flew out the window. In a flash of sonido, he was on top of her, yanking the duvet away from her body and hungrily pulling the neckline of the yukata open so that he could lay his head on the top of her full, nearly exposed breasts. Orihime gasped as he began to nuzzle against her and closed his eyes. The authentic purrs escaping from his throat reverberated against her chest, causing the previously reeling and panicking girl to somewhat calm down and dare she say, _enjoy_ the sensation?

"I-I thought you were about to-" She whispered, her voice shaking like a leaf.

"Nah." Grimmjow mumbled against her. "You're not fertile yet. My instincts at the moment are to court you so that you'll mate with me when you're ready in about a week." He despised the way his voice sounded. It was soft and reassuring to calm her fear, which he could smell was beginning to ebb away. His instincts were going haywire and completely overriding his true nature. He should have been mocking her or cursing at her, not _cuddling_ with her. He felt disgusted as he ran his left hand up and over the curve of her well-formed hip but there was no helping it. His body no longer belonged to him. '_Perfect for bearing cubs…'_ his inner panther praised. For a second, he felt he was going to vomit at the thought. He was only kidding with her earlier about mating, he wasn't serious at all. She was just a stupid, lowly human. Her weak genes would screw the poor kid for life. He felt her chest shudder against him as she took in a ragged breath. She was driving him crazy.

"But I'm not ready to mate yet, Grimmjow. I'm not ready to have kids." She felt ridiculous as she attempted to reason with him. What the heck was going on? Never in her life did she ever think a period would bring her so much anxiety and discomfort. Sure, the cramps sucked but this was insane! She wasn't about to start trying to have children with some panther-hybrid arrancar guy, no matter how attractive he was! Though she had to admit, the warmth and pressure of his strong body pressing into her pelvic area was just what the doctor ordered. It was too early for the Midol to be taking effect so she knew the drastic reduction in her pain had to be due to him becoming a man-shaped heating pad.

Grimmjow wanted to call her stupid and delusional for thinking he would ever mate with her but his overriding instincts calmed him and forced him to be more gentle, to his inner infuriation.

"Listen, Orihime." He started, cringing as he said her name. "I'm just going to be… clingy… for the next few days but I'm going to see Szayel first thing tomorrow to see if there's anything we can do to conceal your scent when your bleeding is over. As innocent as this is now, it won't be that way when things… change." He explained, wanting to skewer himself on his own sword for sounding like a love-sick puppy.

He hated his instincts. He had always thought they had existed solely to drive him to kill and maim but this stupid girl had changed everything. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to protect her, comfort her, and win her favor. He had never had to deal with this before and had no idea what to do to control his sickeningly romantic urges. It would have been better if he was being compelled to mate- at least that was a manly urge. But courting? How pathetic could he get? Maybe he had been in the gigai too long and it's human tendencies had gotten to him.

WAIT A MINUTE.

If Grimmjow could stand to wear the gigai when he was around Orihime, he shouldn't be able to smell her anymore right? And if he couldn't smell her, then he wouldn't be compelled to act like a whipped moron. It was worth a try, at least.

His instincts screamed at him to not let go of the girl who was strangely comfortable in his arms. He figured she would be panicked and distressed at his proximity, but she only allowed him to continue purring against her warm, bare skin. She had even allowed her hands to rest on his back in a loose embrace. Grimmjow wondered if this was really that bad.

'_What the fuck, of course it's bad you idiot.'_ He thought to himself. '_Do not let yourself become complacent and get soft just because of some fucking hormones.'_

_-TO BE CONTINUED-_

* * *

AN: Hopefully didn't gross you out with the details about Orihime's time of the month but I didn't see much of a way around it so enjoy the realism lmao

Speaking of realism, how in-character is Grimmjow, am I right? (Totally kidding, he's a mess this chapter but at least we can blame it on his inner panther you know? How convenient for me yay.)

Also, this got HEKKA long (over 8,000 words I think. Yikes.) and I still have more to write so surprise, surprise someone's writing a two shot even though she swore not to write more than a one-shot again! Even more fun lies, I'm working on ANOTHER two-shot for this story that will be posted after this one so let the good times roll I guess?

I made everything up about arrancar fertility and vasto lorde mating, don't at me. I also have no idea if Ulquiorra was born in hueco mundo to two vasto lord parents but i do know he was by default a vasto unlike grimmjow who was working his way up so idk maybe it works?

REVIEW RESPONSES BECAUSE I LOVE YALL SO MUCH:

(by the way, I ended up finally seeing the ones that I said I couldn't see in the last chapter, thank you so much to everyone who leaves me love, you are all such bright lights on my life!)

Chesnutpoby: Gin deserves SO MUCH LOVE 3 Thank you for reposting your comment, you are such a great reader! I always smile when I see one of your reviews!

Chiapetirl: I love that a non-Grimmhime shipper is reading my story because you can look at it with a nonbiased opinion! I always have a hard time separating what is a good story and what isn't based on the coupling- if I like the ship, I always love the story, you know? I'm so flattered that you are enjoying my collection! Thank you so so much!

. : So about the AU, I have an idea for an AU one shot for this story, but it may be the very last chapter based on my plans for how to lay this puppy out! I also have an idea for an AU chapter story that will be GrimmHime so if that materializes into something real, I will let you know! Like I've said to a reviewer before, I'm naturally a total prude and find myself blushing out of control when I attempt to write a lemon. Like I literally start screaming anytime I write anything about doing the dirty like a little girl (I'm 25 so that's cool) but I'm going to give it my best shot! As you can see in this story and you will soon see in my next one, I'm trying to warm myself up with a little bit of sauciness! Honestly, I get jealous too as I write. Like ugh I wish I could jump into my own story and be her sometimes (only sometimes though bc I unfortunately put her through a lot of bullsh)! Hahaha I appreciate you so much for saying that Grimmy is still in character- i know I'm pushing the boundaries with his softness but I hope I can convey it correctly with the right mixture of his brusqueness as well. My personal view of Grimmjow, even after just recently watching the Hueco Mundo arc, is that he's not just this muscle-y, single-minded monster. I see him as being much more intelligent and intuitive than that! I also see him as being able to form relationships but of course he's not a main main character so Tite doesn't delve into that side of him! Anyway, this response is about to take you a whole week to read but you left me so much great love to read so thank you so much for your comments! I hope you continue to read this collection! 3


	7. Chapter 7

Here is part 2, just 4 u ;)

Rated T for language and fluff

-I don't own Bleach or the characters-

* * *

Chapter 6 Shark Week Hoo Hah Hah 2: Electric Boogaloo

Fighting against every cell and nerve in his essentially drugged body, Grimmjow pulled himself up and away from the intoxicating woman. Leaving the warmth of her chest and the heady scent of her femininity, he rolled off the couch and with hooded eyes, gazed down at her, nearly shuddering as he took in the sight of the skin that had been revealed when he opened the yukata. There was a red mark from where his bone fragment had been pressed against her.

She watched him as he walked to his bed. Was that sadness in her eyes? Great, he was traumatizing her. Normally, Grimmjow would be more than happy to give her a little PTSD but with the strong voice at the front of his mind compelling him to make her his mate, he felt regret, an admittedly very foreign concept to him.

"Where are you going, Grimmjow?" The sound of her light, tinkling voice sent a shiver through his chest. Why could she throw him off so much when she said his name? Not long ago, he used to play with her feelings by saying her own name. Now the favor was being returned.

"I have an idea." He said simply, kneeling down to pull the gigai out from under his bed. This time, his white sandals were already off so he didn't hesitate to begin stepping into the fake body. In a few moments, his hair and eyes were dark and his markings and jaw bone fragment were history. Orihime's face, illuminated in the Hueco Mundo moonlight, watched the process take place before her. No matter how many times she watched a soul being enter or exit a gigai, it always took her by surprise. With instant relief from his too-sensitive nose, Grimmjow slipped out of the tennis shoes and pulled off the grey jacket his human counterpart wore, throwing it in his bureau. He then took off the white shirt and joggers, leaving him standing in only a pair of black boxer briefs and white socks.

"My mind is already back to normal, imagine that." He said to the girl, though he cringed at how long he would have to wear this uncomfortable contraption. It felt like there was a fine grit sandpaper rubbing between his arrancar body and the gigai. He decided to try his best to ignore it though. Anything was better than being a slave to that human.

"That was a great idea, Grimmjow! I don't know how we didn't think of it before." She chirped from her spot on the couch. She arose from a sitting position and grabbed her folded up palette linens from off the secondary armchair that was rarely used. She then began the task of making up the couch as her bed.

'_She is in pain. Help her now.' _Grimmjow couldn't believe it. He couldn't fucking believe it.

'_Hey, asshole I thought I got rid of you!'_ He howled internally, cursing his very existence at this point.

'_You may have discarded your sense of smell but you can never rid yourself of your soul, Grimmjow.' _If he could kill his inner-panther, he would have done so in a heartbeat. This was ridiculous. He had no obligation to this girl and he was not, absolutely NOT going to father cubs with her.

'_Fuck you. She can make her own sleeping arrangements. I'm going to bed.'_ He grumbled, resigning himself to having to curse the voice anytime it dared interfere with him.

'_She's special, you fool. I wouldn't be pursuing her so ardently if she were not. Take off that ridiculous body and allow me to protect her.' _

His mind fell quiet, but his heart would not. _Special?_ What the hell does that mean? She was just a measly human; a tiny thing with nothing "special" about her besides a couple of fragile hair pins and a nice chest. Sure, she had a way above-average face and a great body but seriously, why was his panther side so desperate to have her? He figured it was because she was the first female he had ever encountered in heat while he, too, was able to mate. He had come across a female Vasto Lorde once when he was an adjuchas and she happened to be deep in heat, but he didn't care because he had no way of reproducing himself.

"Goodnight, Grimmjow." Orihime said quietly from the couch. He didn't realize that he was still standing bedside, completely lost in thought. He snapped out of it and slipped between his covers. He wished he had kept the used duvet now as he realized how cold it was in his room. This pathetic human body was worthless. He turned to his side to try to get more comfortable but the friction of the gigai against him felt horrendous. It was one thing to wear it while doing other activities to keep his mind busy but trying to wear it while sleeping? He didn't think it would be possible.

Instead of whining like a spoiled brat, Grimmjow set his mind to the task at hand. '_Go to sleep you fucking wuss. Stop making excuses and just do it or shut the hell up.' _

With that final pep talk to himself, Grimmjow closed his eyes and made up his mind that he would achieve sleep. He just had to do it.

* * *

He couldn't stand the feeling of the gigai suffocating him anymore. Grimmjow had been tossing and turning for what felt like hours and knew he would never find sleep with his dulled senses and strength causing him to feel weak and vulnerable. To his dismay, his inner panther had begun begging, no, commanding him to take off the frail, faux body so that he could better protect his potential mate from anyone or anything that would do her harm. How revolting.

"Woman." He snapped, proud of himself for not allowing his instincts to call her by her name. No response.

"Woman." He said a little louder, relieved when he heard her sheets rustle, knowing she had awoken.

"Grimmjow?" She responded groggily, sleep making her voice a little deeper and huskier.

"I have to take off the gigai. Don't move a muscle." He hoped if she didn't waft her scent over to him that maybe he could restrain himself long enough to fall asleep. She acknowledged the command and due to his preparation of taking off his shoes before putting on the gigai, it slid right off and fell to the floor with a thud. He decided to take care of it in the morning, not wanting to move from his bed as he didn't know what would happen if he put himself even one more inch closer to the woman.

His theory was wildly incorrect, to his dismay. As his animalistic senses returned full force, her scent washed over him like an ocean tide and it took every ounce of strength he had not to tear out of his bed and snatch her up, like a panther with a gazelle.

'_You will feel much better if she is by your side, where she belongs.'_ His feline half revealed.

'_Hell no, Pantera. She's staying on the couch, where she belongs.'_ He retorted, desperately trying to fall asleep. He was physically more comfortable now but his mind had taken up where the gigai had left off. Sleep would never come to him when he felt so disoriented and needy.

'_She will come if you ask. Just know that you will not be able to rest until you feel she is safe and is within your reach.'_

Grimmjow internally groaned, realizing this was the cross he would have to bear for the immense power the large, black wildcat had given him. He knew it had been too perfect up until this point and they had only been getting more powerful. It only made sense that a wrench would have to be thrown in his plans.

As much as he wished it weren't true and he could just go to sleep alone, as usual, he knew Pantera wasn't lying. That disorientation he felt assailing him was not only due to Orihime being out of his touch and sight, but she was the closest to the door. The idea of placing himself between her and the outside world immediately put him at ease. How ridiculous. The speed at which his devotion to her was increasing was making his head spin. He longed for the days of harassing her and taking pleasure in her discomfort.

He decided it wouldn't hurt anything but his self-respect and pride to ask her to come to him.

"Woman." He called once more.

"Hm, Grimmy?" She had clearly begun to fall back asleep. The pet name made him feel physically ill.

"Would you sleep with me tonight?" He asked resentfully, the agony of his request almost making him rip his hair out in handfuls. Not that he would ever have asked her this before, but even if he had, he wouldn't have asked. He would have demanded. For the first time in his life, he couldn't wait to talk to Szayel. He watched the small girl rise from the couch, the duvet still wrapped around her as she hesitantly approached his bedside like a marshmallow ghost.

"You still won't do anything, right?" She asked breathlessly, watching him with weary, but warm eyes.

"I'm no stranger to getting a little blood on my sword," he said with a smirk, watching her face draining of all it's color with the crude joke. "But no, I won't do anything." Despite the awkwardness she felt at the whole situation, she was slightly relieved to hear him say something that sounded more like his usual self. She unwrapped the duvet from around her and laid it out on the bed. To her surprise, Grimmjow held his arms out to her, inviting her to melt into their addicting warmth and protection. His eyes were filled with conflict, but they held no ulterior motives. She felt a pang of pity for the guy, he truly had no control over what he was doing. She put her knee onto the mattress to get into the bed and allowed herself to be held. Once again, the lamb succumbed to the panther, willingly offering herself up as a sacrifice. He pulled her across his body, placing her on the side of the bed furthest from the door. He wrapped his arms tightly around her trembling frame, the one beneath her holding her shoulders and the one on top around her waist and she nestled her head into his chest. All at once, his instincts calmed and his inner panther was at peace. He detested having to rely on her presence for his sleep but man, it may have been worth it.

He felt her face nuzzle deeper into his bare skin. When he looked down, the smell of his scent uniting with hers caused a warm, tingling feeling to disperse through his stomach, permeating his entire being. He liked smelling himself on her, he realized. The confliction of being thrilled and nauseated all at the same time was driving him up the wall. He wished he could just be rid of her. He had one job, just one- to fight, to kill and to win. Why was she able to complicate his life like this? He had never wanted anything to get in his way of total domination and this little girl, without a doubt, was going to hinder his growth.

'_She will make you stronger. You only ever fought for yourself before, now you will fight for her. You must not fail her.'_ His inner panther purred, though it wracked through his brain as if it had been roared.

'_I won't allow it, Pantera. You're wrong.'_ Grimmjow retorted, though the fingertips that were lazily leaving little meandering trails over Orihime's lower back told a different story.

* * *

Orihime was overwhelmed with jealousy. Grimmjow's eyelashes were so long and thick that they rested upon his cheeks like inky butterfly wings. Why was it that this man had not only better hair than her, but better eyelashes as well? Though they framed his large, aquamarine eyes so seductively, she decided that they were still wasted on him. She had a feeling he hadn't given his eyelashes a second thought in his entire life.

With a small smile on her face, she continued to analyze his features. She had never gotten to observe him asleep and peaceful like this. Before, she had always been asleep as well or had just missed seeing him before he awoke. The only wrinkles he possessed were a couple charming little lines between his eyebrows from where he frowned so often. His slight nose was somewhat low to his face and led to pouty lips that were full, though not large. His smooth jawline was sharply sculpted as if from marble and completely clean of any hair. His face could almost be described as delicate with how finely heart-shaped it was, adding to his feline appeal. She almost giggled when she looked at his hair. Normally the blue tresses were styled with product into a strategic mess but now after a few hours of sleep, it was almost all flat and the thick mess of bangs that rested against his forehead made him look so incredibly young and innocent. He was stunning, she decided. He was genuinely other-worldly.

Lost in her thoughts of blue kitties and black butterflies, Orihime didn't realize her fingertips were tracing the edges of Grimmjow's abdomen muscles and the opening of his hollow hole until she felt his breath becoming labored. When she became cognizant of what she was doing, she snatched her hand away only for him to begin frowning in his sleep. His purrs became more of a deep growling sound. Her eyes widened as his arms pulled impossibly tight around her and he rolled over, now sleeping on top of her. Luckily, only his upper body had her pinned so she could still breathe but the feeling of his left leg tangling with hers made her feel slightly faint.

She thought she was going to lose it when his nose nuzzled along the shell of her ear and the warmth of his sweet breath danced into her hair as he drew in her scent. When his left hand rested on her hip, a strange tightness filled her lower stomach. She knew this wasn't a cramp. It was pleasant, though incessantly needy. Before she could place the nagging sensation, the man beside her took a deep breath and stretched, groaning as his muscles attempted to wake up for the day. Orihime watched with interest as his electric eyes fluttered half open. It was mesmerizing to watch as they began to focus on her face and darted around the room, finally landing on her once more.

As he awoke, Grimmjow realized that for the first night since she had moved in to his room she hadn't rejected his dream, and yet he didn't have it. His sleep had been peaceful and deep, no dreams but an overwhelming sensation of happiness and contentment filled him through the night. He stared into the depths of the glittering grey eyes belonging to the young woman he had trapped in his arms, trying to figure out why she had such an intense effect on him. His mind went completely blank when she suddenly smiled. It was as if the sun had come out from behind a dark rain cloud.

"Good morning, Grimmjow. I hope you slept well." She said. He frowned at her, not out of anger but out of discomfort. He liked this- he liked her being here to greet him when he woke. He liked the slight pressure of her body pressing into his. He disliked that he liked it. He dismissed it as being the fault of his inner panther and gave himself a pass. If she wasn't in this condition, he would never feel this way. In fact, she would still be on the couch and not in his bed.

"Hn." He responded. Though her scent was clouding his brain and making him want to stay in bed and hold her all day, he managed to pull his arms away from her. Before his instincts made him change his mind, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbed his face and stretched his arms one more time before standing up.

"We should go see Szayel before the meeting I have later this morning." He said as he forced himself to walk into his bathroom to get ready for the day. Orihime felt cold and alone without him next to her, but she chose to ignore this so that she, too, could begin readying herself for the day.

After the human and arrancar had washed up and dressed, Grimmjow clearly in pain as he consistently had to refuse his body and mind of it's desires, he gently scooped her up into his arms and flew off in a sonido towards the laboratory. He was irked that the dress the seamstresses designed for her covered so much skin but then again, he figured the modesty was ultimately a god-send. He was still absolutely surrounded by and drunk on her smell, but the dress did tone down the mental images he was being bombarded with, consisting of the things he wanted to do to her after her bleeding had ended.

"Grimmjow, Princess." The pink-haired scientist greeted as the Espada came to a sudden stop at the open door-frame of Szayel's impressive laboratory.

"What do you know about human heat cycles?" Grimmjow grilled him, skipping the pleasantries without setting the young woman in his arms down. The presence of another Espada actually had him holding her tighter, though he would prefer she were behind him and not in front. Szayel smiled maniacally at the implication and set down the petri dish he was currently analyzing.

"Well well, is our sweet little prisoner going through menstruation?" Szayel asked with a twinkle of interest in his predatory eyes. Orihime could feel Grimmjow's muscles tense even more than they were before.

"If you're going to be a sketchy creep about it, we're leaving." He barked as he turned and began to walk away.

"No, no! I promise I will behave. Just tell me what is going on." He said with what seemed to be a forced reassuring and apologetic smile. Grimmjow turned back around and groaned, wishing more than anything he didn't have to interact with the strange arrancar before him.

"She's going through heat and my panther is making me act… differently. I'm concerned I might do something I could regret when her bleeding is over and I need you to figure out a way to either turn off my instincts without a gigai or stop her heat."

After Grimmjow's brief explanation Szayel put his finger to his chin and began to methodically scratch.

"I know that a human will have a full cycle every month. With their bleeding, a new cycle begins and will last typically 28 or so days. Mid-way through that cycle, about two weeks from now, she will produce an egg and will be highly fertile. I would guess that almost as soon as her bleeding is over, your animal instincts will instruct you to mate with her up until that day, called ovulation. You're in quite the predicament, Grimmjow." Szayel said with a mischievous grin.

"So how do I solve it, Szayel?" Grimmjow snapped back.

"You mean you don't want a tiny little Grimmjow running around asking you for piggyback rides and bedtime stories, Sexta?" The, clearly mad, scientist asked with a chuckle. Grimmjow once again turned on his heels and began to leave the laboratory.

"I don't have time to destroy you right now but I'll come back later to make sure you never do another experiment ever again. See ya." He was surprised when Szayel sonido'd in front of him, blocking his path out. He growled and prepared himself to force his way through.

"I will say this, I have observed a couple animal-spirit arrancar before and the amount of self-control they have after the bleeding occurs is negligible, if it exists at all. If you do not control the situation the two of you are in now, you will mate with this girl and most likely produce offspring. That is… if she survives the ordeal. I have only observed low level arrancar until now, but you, Grimmjow, have a release form and are ranked six out of the ten strongest, while she is a mere human girl. I can't guarantee you won't kill her."

Grimmjow's face blanched with Szayel's prognosis. The last thing he wanted was to mate and breed with Orihime and if he killed her, Aizen would kill him. Great. He could feel Orihime's hand grab the front of his jacket. She had a death grip on the fabric. Grimmjow sighed, beginning to resign himself to his fate.

"I will do some research into the situation and see if there is anything I can do to alleviate the problem. I should have an answer tonight." Szayel said, trailing off, clearly in thought.

"I understand I am of a lower rank than you and cannot make requests however, if I could observe and take some notes, I would be much obliged." The Eighth Espada said with a slight smirk. "I've never been around a menstruating human and an Espada of your power with waning self-control. This would be wonderful for my research."

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. "I don't care. Just fix this shit so we can be done here." Szayel smiled fully this time and nodded his head.

"Your wish is my command, Grimmjow-sama. Leave it to me." He said as he put a hand to his heart and puffed out his chest. With that, Grimmjow turned to swiftly leave the lab, this time successfully.

* * *

Orihime felt like an idiot. She felt like an absolute moron. They didn't need some overpowered hollow from another dimension to tell her the solution to their problem, she should have been able to figure this one out herself.

Birth control.

The answer to the riddle was created in her own dimension, a product of the world of the living. It was just that simple, and looking at the little package with the tiny white pills on Grimmjow's coffee table, she wanted to bang her head into the wall. '_Duh Orihime…'_

When the Eighth Espada left, Grimmjow sat down beside her on the couch. Orihime noticed he was sitting closer than she would ever expect him to. She definitely wasn't complaining but she knew his behavior was only the result of her hormones. She grabbed the packet and the glass of water that was placed next to it. She had never taken birth control before as she hadn't a reason to before now. She would never expect that her first time starting it would be to stop a drop dead gorgeous hollow dude from jumping her.

"So these things are going to trick your body into thinking it's pregnant so you will not become fertile…" He said more as a statement than a question. Orihime swallowed the pill and leaned back into the cushions.

"I guess so. I wonder how he got these, anyway. I mean he had to have gone to the world of the living, right?" Orihime pondered.

"Who the hell knows. That freak is a piece of work but I can't say he's not helpful sometimes." Grimmjow leaned back into the cushions next to her, she smiled as he adjusted himself to lay his head in her lap.

"I wonder what you'll be like when I'm sending out pregnancy hormones though." Orihime mused aloud, almost embarrassed. She had no idea what to do with her hands. She wanted to play with his downy hair but she wasn't sure if that was too far… Sure, he was suffering from instinctual feelings, but she wasn't so what excuse would she have?

"Even if it were real, it wouldn't be my kid so maybe I won't care and it will turn me off from you." He said nonchalantly. She frowned slightly, weirdly upset at the idea of him not wanting her anymore. Why did she feel like this? The idea of him leaving her alone should make her happy and relieved. Deep in thought, she found her fingers lazily entwining in his blue strands. She allowed her nails to graze his scalp, causing his body to go completely limp and the slightest smile to touch his lips.

She was treasuring this moment, she found. She was memorizing the feel of his body and the pleasant, peaceful look on his face and filing it away deep in her heart. She didn't want this to end. She didn't want him to not care about her anymore.

"Why are you upset?" He mumbled as he rolled over onto his front to give her better access to his head. He couldn't see her face as his was facing away from her- how could he tell?

"I-I'm not upset, Grimmjow. What makes you think that?" She asked, berating herself for how her voice was giving her away.

"I can smell it." He said, sounding half-asleep. Orihime stiffened.

"What?" She breathed. How could he smell emotions?

"Haven't you ever heard that animals can smell fear? Predatory animals can smell the hormones a body emits when it feels an emotion strongly enough. You're emitting an anxiety hormone but you're not panicking which means you're sad." Orihime couldn't believe what he was saying. This was ridiculous. She suddenly felt naked, completely exposed to him.

"That seems really unfair…" She said softly, wondering if the next thing he would reveal to her was that he could read minds.

"I literally merged souls with a fucking panther. What would you expect?" He muttered as he nuzzled his way further into her thighs. The movement cleared her head immediately. How could such a small thing affect her so much?

"Good point."

"So why are you upset?" He asked again, clearly not intending to let it go.

"I don't…" She started, unsure of how to explain her ridiculous feelings. "I'm nervous about the side effects of the pill. I've heard it can cause nausea." When in doubt, lie? She wondered when she had become so okay with fibbing.

"Tch. After those cramps you had last night, you're concerned about a tummy ache?" He scoffed. She smiled and laughed lightly.

"You're right. I'm sure I'll be okay." She conceded, relieved he wasn't pushing further when she could tell that he wasn't buying her lie. She just couldn't bring herself to admit that she wanted him to want her, that she was enjoying the touches and the attention he gave her. She was dreading the possibility of having to sleep on his couch again. How safe she felt when she was wrapped up in his arms while she slept with him in his bed was like a drug and she was a full-blown addict.

Suddenly, Grimmjow turned over to lay on his back once again. His right hand rose to grab one of the hands that was currently playing in his hair. Orihime watched him in fascination as he guided it to his hollow hole.

"Will you do that thing you were doing this morning?" He asked, allowing her hand to rest on the edge where his skin plunged into the center of his tight stomach. '_I thought he was asleep when I did that…'_ she thought to herself, blushing deeply when it registered that he was not, in fact, asleep. She instinctively began to trail her fingers along the hills and valleys created by his prominent muscles and around the smooth cavity.

"This?" She asked, knowing it was exactly what he meant but wanting the thrill of hearing him say it. A deep purr answered her question before he could. He turned his face into her stomach and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, that." He rasped. Of course he had felt his own hollow hole before but the sensation coming from her soft fingers was causing his heart to beat harder than if he had sonido'd from one side of Hueco Mundo to the other. His eyes snapped wide open as he felt her hand leave the edge and dip into the abyss. She continued to run the tips of her fingers over the walls inside and massaged the edge with her dainty thumbs. His breath hitched as pleasure flooded his senses. He had never felt anything quite like this. Swallowing the moan that was building in his throat was taking extreme effort, though a shudder did manage to slide down his spine.

"Does that hurt? I'm sorry!" She gasped as she quickly removed her hand from his stomach. Before it could get too far, he grabbed it and swiftly put it back where it was.

"N-no Orihime, that feels amazing." He admitted, not caring anymore that he was metaphorically kneeling before her, eating blissfully out of the palm of her hand. If he was wrapped any tighter around her finger, it would break. In this moment, she was all that mattered. He would do anything she asked of him, no matter what the request. She smiled and continued her ministrations eagerly.

"I'm happy I can make you feel good!" She chirped above him. She watched Grimmjow move his head closer to her stomach, slightly confused. He finally got so close that his face was pressed into it. Her hand fell away from his abs as his body turned onto its side, his left arm found itself wrapped around her waist. He nuzzled his nose against the fabric that covered her toned tummy and hummed in what could only be contentment.

"Grimmjow?" She asked quietly, butterflies going wild in her midsection as the hand that wrapped around her began to massage her lower back.

"I think the pill started working." He growled, clearly not pleased though refusing to relinquish his hold on her. Orihime blushed, understanding that he meant she smelled like she was with child.

Grimmjow internally groaned, both in agony at his degrading behavior and euphoria at the warm, feminine scent of Orihime's new hormones. His prediction that her seeming to be pregnant would make him less attracted to her was dead wrong, it was only worse now. He was grateful that he was still not trying to have his way with her, but through the thick haze of his blind adoration for this woman, he knew that he would never recover the self-respect he was throwing out the window.

Orihime brought her hands back up to his head and continued massaging his scalp. She had always wanted to be a mother... is this what it was like? To sit with your husband and revel at the miracle taking place inside your body? Sure, there was no baby, but with how captivated she was becoming with the devotion Grimmjow was showing her, there may as well have been. She felt slightly guilty that his Get Out of Jail Free card had become something that only forced him to act more like a love-sick pup. She guessed it was better than the alternative but she still found it hard to watch him battle with his instincts.

"Grimmjow-sama, I am here with Ms. Orihime's dinner." A man's voice rang through the door.

"Bring it in." He said against her midsection. Orihime looked away from the arrancar who entered, understanding that Grimmjow was not bothered enough to move, though he did resume laying on his back so that he could keep an eye on the servant. After the water glass, the covered plate with her food and the salt and pepper shakers were all placed on the table, the man grabbed the silverware. In his attempt at setting the bundle down along with everything else he had brought, the knife fell from the napkin and clattered to the floor. He quickly apologized and leaned over to pick it up by the handle, the blade inadvertently directed towards Orihime.

'_End him. Protect the cub.'_

Faster than a bullet leaves the barrel, Grimmjow knocked the knife from his hand. Before it could even hit the ground, the young servant found himself a few inches higher up, elevated by a strong hand firmly gripping his neck.

"Watch it." Grimmjow threatened with blazing eyes. Orihime gasped and stood from her spot on the couch.

"Grimmjow, it's fine. He was just picking it up!" She cried, taken aback by his sudden violence. She knew Grimmjow was a hothead but this was something else entirely.

Grimmjow released his grip and allowed the young male arrancar to fall into a gasping heap on the floor. He didn't want to admit it, but he had no idea where that unanticipated outburst came from. One minute he saw the flash of the knife in Orihime's direction and the next, his vision was red and he was choking this kid so hard he nearly crushed his windpipe.

"She doesn't need a knife. Just go." Grimmjow ordered, watching the servant scamper away, swiftly escaping his quarters. Orihime only stood in stunned silence.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." He finally said after a few minutes of deafening quiet. "I didn't even register what I was doing until I had him by the throat."

"Did you think he was going to stab me?" She asked him quietly, slowly sitting back down on the couch.

"I don't know." He admitted. "I just saw potential danger and knew I needed to terminate it." He turned from her and walked into his bathroom to take a shower and clear his mind.

'_You need to be more vigilant, Grimmjow. That man could have hurt your mate and child.'_ His panther scolded him.

'_For real, you have to go. That was stupid. He was picking up a fucking knife and you made me act like a spastic animal.'_ Grimmjow didn't regret what he did nor did he feel bad about it, but he knew it made him look like an idiot to overreact like that. Not exactly the image he's going for and a definite waste of energy.

'_The stakes are much higher now that she's carrying our cub. We have to protect her more now than ever.' _

'_Dude, she's not pregnant.'_ Grimmjow mentally rolled his eyes. Had his inner panther not been paying attention at all?

'_Don't think you can hide it. I could smell her pregnancy hormones from miles away.' _The panther roared at him.

'_It's fake. She took pills to stop her heat cycle. We haven't even had sex. You know that's required to make a baby, or did your mom not teach you?' _Grimmjow said snidely.

'_Whether what you say is true or not, your instincts are to protect her and she has the scent of a woman who is with child. You will protect her as such.'_ The panther suddenly went quiet and Grimmjow knew that was the end of the conversation. He punched the wall of his shower and allowed the water to pour over his face. This was his life now, he guessed. He would continue to be whipped for this ridiculous human girl and he wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it. As long as she treated him to luxuries like he was receiving from her sweet touches earlier on the couch, he figured he could survive the embarrassment.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Grimmjow asked Orihime as she began to prepare her couch palette for the night.

"What do you mean? I'm getting ready to go to sleep." She responded, confusion twinkling in her eyes.

"You don't sleep on the couch anymore." He said simply as he pulled back the sheets on the left side of his bed, inviting her to join him. She blushed and placed her folded linens back down in the arm chair.

"Are you sure?" Her voice slightly trembled as she spoke.

"You're acting like we've never slept in the same bed before." He said with a scoff. She smiled awkwardly and scratched her head.

"I know but it's always a last minute thing, you know? It's never been planned or expected, it always just kinda happened suddenly or accidentally…" Orihime cringed as she began to ramble and fidget with her hands but she couldn't stop herself or the deep blush that was spreading from her face to her chest. Grimmjow rolled his eyes and allowed himself to fall against his pillow, drowning out her incessant chatter.

"Just come lie down, Princess." He ordered, waiting with the infinitesimal amount of patience he was lucky to have. Her mumbling immediately ceased and she finally walked over to his large bed. She shyly took her place beside him and slowly lowered her head to her pillow, refusing to look over into his piercing gaze.

"I can't sleep when you're so far away." He admitted in a low, grumbling tone, clearly hating himself for what he said. Orihime's glance abruptly met his and with a wave of newfound confidence, she moved closer to him and wrapped both of her arms around one of his. His eyes were gentle, yet there was something else lurking in them that she couldn't place.

"I know this is hard for you, Grimmjow, so please don't hesitate to tell me what you need me to do. I promise I'll do anything to make you more comfortable." Orihime watched as his eyebrows creased with a frown, not of anger but of discernment.

"I'm so grateful to you for your patience and help. When I saw the first signs of blood I was so scared. This place is unforgiving and unkind, but you have provided for me and protected me, even though I know it puts you out of your comfort zone…" Great, she was mumbling again and that crease between his eyebrows was getting deeper with every word she spoke.

The blazing sensation of his lips on hers caused her words to fall short and her mind to explode in eruptions of color. Her ears began to ring and her body began to shake. However, shortly after it started, it was over and Grimmjow was pulling her into his embrace.

"Just shut up, I get it. You're welcome, Princess." He said sharply, though his inner panther was purring deeply and contentedly. The small girl in his arms smiled softly before falling into a blissful sleep. This really wasn't all _that_ bad, he decided.

* * *

Holy crap I'm choking on fluff. somebody call the FBI!

I'm so sorry it took me a millenia to update- I literally binge-watched Kamisama Hajimemashite and Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso in two days. Yes, I watched the full show in one day each. YOLO I also have a job and dogs so between lack of sleep and not leaving time to write, I have been majorly AWOL. I have sworn off starting any new shows though because I miss writing so much and I don't want to get rusty again or forget any of my ideas! Speaking of, the next chapter should be up within 24 hours because besides some clean up, I already have it written hollllaaaaa ~ who's ur productive gal?

Also, 99% sure google thinks I'm either pregnant or trying to become pregnant bc my search history after this chapter is nothing but questions about fertility, birth control and pregnancy. Ahhh the life of a writer.

REVIEW RESPONSES BC MY READERS R SOME BAD CHICAS AND CHICOS. CHICXS?

Chestnutpoby: Holy moly I'm so glad you think it was hot. Hot is a new genre for me so I'm slowly trying to work my way into writing it! I upped the level this chapter and the next will be even more elevated. Deffo think I'm gonna get that lemon in! I don't even feel that shy about it because it will have a good reason- you'll see what I mean when it happens in a couple chapers ahhhhh! Thank you so much for your continued support- seeing your reviews pop up seriously make my whole day and give me the inspiration I need to keep going!

HimeIchiUlquiGrim (I'm going to have to start writing your name like this because when I did it accurately in the previous chapter, FF deleted it? Weird stuff but hopefully this is okay!): I'm so glad you liked him succumbing to his panther, yet trying to play it off and stay himself! That's exactly what I was going for! The whole point of fan fiction is to throw the characters into situations they wouldn't normally be in, so it's all good to give him some fluff with Princess, right? Haha thank you so much for your reviews! I seriously couldn't do this without your support and love!


	8. Chapter 8

Uh ohhh I have to change the rating of my story to M because of this chapter D:

If you're not comfortable with or get triggered by rapey-type scenes, this chapter is not for you. I apologize! There is also cussing and violence because this is a story involving Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and I'm trying really, really hard to keep him in character, especially after the previous occ dumpster fire chapter. It was a fun dumpster fire, but I think I need to reel it in or I might burn down the hood lmao.

I do not own Bleach or the characters.

* * *

Chapter 8: Collateral Damage

Orihime sat uncomfortably on the edge of Grimmjow's couch, stiff under the incessant stares of the two young male arrancar he had tasked with watching her. They took his order exceedingly seriously as they had not once taken their eyes off of her from their position on each side of the tall ebony door that lead into Grimmjow's quarters. She couldn't blame them, Grimmjow's orders were more a threat if she was being honest. There were also two more guards posted outside the door, though she had not seen them. Normally when the Sixth Espada had to leave her for an extended period of time, he only left two guards. Four seemed a bit overkill but she wouldn't dare question him.

Early this morning around 3:00 am, Orihime had groggily wormed her way out of the refuge of Grimmjow's arms to answer the call of nature. She realized then that her bleeding had ended so she knew that the time of reckoning was finally here. Either the pills Szayel gave her would work and the handsome Espada would simply continue to dote on her or they wouldn't and he would lose himself to his baser instincts and take her to mate. Would the birth control would work the way it was intended or was it too early to tell? She knew he would still be moody and clingy with her like he was when he awoke this morning, but when he returned, would he be the same guy? Orihime wasn't exactly sure what was going on with her protector but she did know that while his fussing over her was awkward, it was also undoubtedly charming.

He had told her he would only be gone a few hours on a scouting mission in the Menos Forest. Apparently there was a large group of adjuchas there who were taking to the shadows of the underground wood to plot a rebellion against Las Noches. It wasn't a big deal, but no matter how seemingly small the threat, Aizen still believed it necessary to extinguish it.

"So um, do you two have names?" Orihime asked awkwardly. She wondered if the tension would lessen if she knew some personal details about the arrancar. They both continued to stare at her silently until finally, the one with lavender hair spoke up.

"My name is He-Cho and this is Wolken." He said firmly, pointing at the man next to him with shocking yellow hair, similar to the Third Espada's. Orihime smiled brightly at them.

"It's so nice to meet you both. Thank you for protecting me while Grimmjow is away." She chirped. The small talk worked and she found herself settling deeper into the cushions of the couch. She felt suffocated by her tight and stiff Las Noches uniform. She wished she could lounge in her borrowed sleeping yukata like she normally did when she knew she would be locked up all day, but she thought that would be inappropriate with strangers in the room. Funny how she didn't mind when it was only the blue-haired arrancar with her…

With the deafening noise of an explosion, the large door to Grimmjow's room was kicked open with great force, hitting He-Cho and smashing him against the wall behind it. Orihime screamed at the sudden disturbance and jumped up from the couch. Wolken snapped into action after regaining his senses and attacked the intruder.

"No one is to enter this room without the permission of the Sixth Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez!" He exclaimed as he launched an electric yellow cero at the uninvited man. He returned the yellow cero with a red one of his own. When Wolken's attack was neutralized, he withdrew his zanpakuto and without hesitation, thrusted it into Wolken's throat. Blood spewed all over Grimmjow's door and the white walls that surrounded it.

"Fuck Grimmjow." The intruder said with pure, unadulterated wrath as Wolken's body slumped lifeless to the floor.

"No!" She screamed at the large, unfamiliar arrancar. "Please stop!" She put her hands to her head and sent her healing fairies flying at her now dying guards. She couldn't look at He-Cho who had now slumped to the floor, as the impact of the door slamming into him had crushed his skull. She had never seen a brain before and after glancing at his for a split second, she knew she never wanted to ever again.

The invading arrancar finally noticed her and sonido'd up to her faster than she could blink. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked it back so that she would be looking into his eyes. He had a bone fragment, like all the arrancar, but his wrapped around his forehead like a hachimaki and it was stained and filthy. His eyes were a burning yellow, almost serpentine, and were set off starkly by his dirty, tanned face and a mop of jet black hair that fell around his shoulders. He was enormous. If she had looked straight ahead, she would only be able to see the top half of his abdomen.

"Ah, so that's why there were guards posted around his quarters. Grimmjow finally got himself a little lady, did he? And you're a human, how interesting. What did he threaten you with so that you'd live somewhere as shitty as Hueco Mundo and fuck him?" Orihime cringed visibly at the incredibly foul language this man was using towards her. Tears pricked her eyes at the pain and despair that was wracking her body and soul.

"Wh-who are you?" She gasped, trying to wriggle out of his tight hold to no avail. He smelled like he hadn't bathed in months. Soured sweat and body odor mingled together to cause Orihime to nearly gag. He smirked at her, his face undoubtedly handsome, but contorted by the evil that clearly resided in his heart.

"My name is Gerardo Montsolio. I used to be a fraccion for your precious panther." He growled. "I can't wait for him to show up to find you raped and murdered in his bed. Then I'm going to kill him too." Orihime's eyes widened and she tried even harder to get away from him but it was ridiculous for her to even attempt. His grip was infrangible, especially for someone as weak as she.

"But why?" She cried out in pain as his hand pulled tighter around her chestnut locks, making her scalp scream in agony. Her fairies were still at work healing He-Cho and Wolken but the two half-dead guards were nowhere near being ready to fight again. It would probably take hours for them to be conscious and by that point it would be much too late for her…

"That fucking asshole betrayed me." He said as he threw her roughly on Grimmjow's soft bed and climbed clumsily on top of her. He pinned her arms above her head, only needing one hand to completely surround both of her wrists in a grip so tight, it made her yelp in pain. The sanctuary where she had slept peacefully with the rowdy Espada every night was about to become her worst nightmare and ultimately, her grave. Tears began to fall from her eyes as her fate was beginning to dawn on her.

"I mess up one time... one. time. and he decides I'm not worth being in his pack anymore." The man ripped Orihime's dress at the top, revealing her lacy pink bra to his scalding gaze.

"He banished me to the desert with nothing but the clothes on my back and a borderline fatal wound. He sentenced me to an eternity of wandering in the darkness of desolation. All for what? Just because I ran off in the world of the living during his unauthorized invasion to eat some fresh human souls? The fucking idiot got his arm cut off for it anyway. I was going to attack him to get my revenge while he was weakened until somehow the damn thing came back." He ground out as he ripped off her bra and roughly grabbed her exposed breasts, causing her to scream in pain. She had never been handled so violently before. She had never been so terrified in her life, and after what she had been through, that was saying a lot.

"Shut. Up. You may be Grimmjow's whore but I'm still going to enjoy violating his territory." He sneered. His enormous hand tore her dress the rest of the way down the skirt and he moved to rip off her underwear as well. The delicate fabric didn't stand a chance against his strength and the lace quickly gave way. He pushed a large, calloused finger inside her only to stop abruptly when he hit a wall of thin flesh. His face lit up with confusion as Orihime's contorted with burning pain in her groin. She was clearly not properly lubricated for any penetration of such a delicate area and besides-

"Wait… You're a virgin? He hasn't taken you yet?" The man asked with a look of pure disbelief. He pulled his finger back out of her, causing her to grimace again and cry out with how rough it felt against her walls. It was as if his finger was wrapped in sandpaper, it hurt so badly.

"To say I'm surprised is a definite understatement." he said as a repulsive grin slithered it's way across his face. "Well, where he has failed as a man, I can finish the job." He smirked at her with malice glinting in his glowing amber eyes.

"Please, please stop." She begged him as he began to pull off his dirty white pants. He could kill her all he wanted, but this was too much. She couldn't withstand this torture. Grimmjow's clean, protective scent wafted up to her from his sheets, only to become masked by the intruder's nauseating odor every time he made a movement above her. Once Gerardo had his pants off and discarded on the floor, he began to roughly push Orihime's delicate legs apart. She began to sob, losing all control but wanting so badly to be able to protect herself. This couldn't be happening… This can't be right… it must be a bad dream… Why, why couldn't she protect herself?

No matter how tightly she tried to squeeze her thighs back together, she was no match for his raw power. This was it. She was going to be raped and then he would murder her. She continued to sob but now, instead of watching Gerardo in abject terror, she closed her eyes, resigning herself to her fate. For a millisecond, the thought of sending Tsubaki at him crossed her mind but it was no use. The aggressive little fairy would be no match for this giant arrancar and in her state of mind, she would never be able to put the confidence behind it that he needed to properly slice through her attacker. Orihime's throat and eyes burned with how violently she was crying. She held her breath and grit her teeth as she braced herself for the first, undoubtedly painful thrust.

However, where a heavy and nauseating warmth once weighed her down, a cool, weightless breeze now cascaded over her body as if she were being kissed by angels. The anaconda grip on her wrists disappeared without any warning. Her stinging eyes flew open as she saw Gerardo Montsolio flying across Grimmow's bedroom. He landed in the wall by one of the armchairs and slunk down into a heap. Her blue-haired savior was in front of him in a second.

"Well, if it isn't my little renegade ex-fraccion. Didn't I leave you in the desert to bleed to death?" He asked, venom dripping from his voice.

"You motherfu-" Before the man implanted in the wall could finish his insult, Grimmjow grabbed him by the neck and put him in a choke hold. He was taller and heavier than Grimmjow, but it didn't matter. The Sexta Espada was a master of hand-to-hand combat and was easily able to exploit the large man on the ground to get a rock-solid hold on him. Orihime watched in horrid fascination as Gerardo's face began to go from dirty and tan to red, then purple. Grimmjow was choking him to death… Before the intruder completely passed out, Grimmjow stood up. Holding him by his dingy collar, Montsolio was thrown out the open door.

"I let you go last time, Gerardo, but that was the limit of my mercy. Today is the last day you breathe." With that final threat, Grimmjow used sonido to approach his ex-fraccion, arriving in front of him quicker than the speed of sound. He grabbed his head this time and a ball of blood red energy began to form in the palm that rested against the face of the doomed man.

"So you're going to destroy your only remaining fraccion because of some stupid human woman?" The miffed arrancar wheezed around Grimmjow's cero. His windpipe had surely been collapsed. He began to laugh like a madman, the sound was breathy and mangled.

"The great Panther King, the Sexta Espada, is WHIPPED like a little bitch." He rasped as he continued to laugh. However, the laughing abruptly turned to screams of pain as Grimmjow intensified his cero, allowing it to begin slowly incinerating Gerardo's face.

"Adios, Montsolio." Grimmjow smirked as the ball released from his palm. He watched with sick pleasure as the once whole arrancar was blown to bits by his point-blank cero.

Looking on with a strange mix of awe and horror at the mutilated, smoking body of the arrancar, Orihime found herself suddenly envious of Grimmjow's innate talent for destruction.

"I should have drowned him in the shower. Man, he smelled like the Las Noches trash pit in the middle of our warm season." Grimmjow muttered, looking around his destroyed and now smelly room with a scowl on his face. That face… Orihime had never been so happy in her entire life to see that wonderful, beautiful, breathtaking face. Ignoring the tatters that clung to her body and left her exposed, she got off his bed. Before she could fully stand, she fell to her knees. She didn't have the strength to remain upright, though she wrapped her arms around herself in a protective embrace and allowed the rest of her sobs to escape her throat. She didn't care what Grimmjow thought or what he saw of her, she just knew that she was alive and for the most part unharmed. She was so grateful.

Fighting the instincts that screamed at him to go to her, hold her, and wipe her tears, Grimmjow openly stared at the half-naked woman as she attempted to console herself on his floor. What a pitiful sight. If he hadn't finished the mission to the Menos Forest so quickly, she would without a doubt have experienced a torturous death at the hands of his former subordinate. Well, if he was being honest with himself, his inner panther taking over and making excessively quick work of the rebel adjuchas so that he could get back to protecting Orihime was also to thank. He was impressed and disgusted at how sharp his instincts were becoming when it came to her. He didn't know consciously that she was in trouble, but something in his subconscious was screaming at him to get back to her side. He looked over at the good-for-nothing guards who were bathed in her healing orb. The stupid girl had put more effort into saving the worthless maggots' lives instead of protecting herself. Typical.

"How do you do it?" She asked him raggedly from her spot on the floor as he wiped a drop of blood off his face.

"Do what?" He grunted apathetically.

"How do you kill? How are you so confident in yourself? You win. You always win. How?" The young girl was exasperated and frustrated with herself. She was about to be raped and murdered and yet she STILL couldn't find the will to protect herself. Sure, the man was out to get Grimmjow and had previously betrayed him but Gerardo had been one of his fraccion, one of his companions. Despite this, Grimmjow destroyed the pitiful creature without a second thought. There was no hesitation in his retribution. In fact, he even seemed to enjoy it.

"Who was that man to you, Princess?" He asked her, glancing at the corpse in the hallway, attempting to sort out each of her questions.

"He wasn't-" she started. "I didn't know him at all."

"So he was a stranger to you." He summed up.

"Yes." She answered, wondering where he could be going with this.

"And yet he tried to hurt you. He tried to take your innocence. He thought he had the right to touch you, to cause you pain and suffering and he knew he could get away with it as long as no one stronger than him showed up. What does that make him?" Grimmjow's already annoyed eyes began to glow with intensity. Orihime's breath was taken away by how beautiful he was.

"A monster…" She breathed. He rolled his eyes.

"No. That makes him your enemy." His eyes locked on to hers as he emphasized the last word. 'My enemy…' Orihime thought to herself. She had never truly considered anyone an enemy before. She had believed certain people to be crazy, misunderstood, on the wrong side, or violent but she had never classified anyone as an enemy.

"But I don't-" She started to say but was cut off.

"There is only one thing you should do with your enemies, Orihime." She wished she could make her heart stop fluttering on the rare occasions he said her name. Grimmjow's eyes shifted back over to the corpse.

"Annihilate them."

"Teach me, Grimmjow." Bewildered blue eyes shot over to meet her determined grey.

"How the hell am I supposed to teach someone with absolutely zero skills in combat how to fight?" He snapped at her, wondering if she had hit her head sometime during her altercation. However, her resolve did not budge.

"I have an offensive ability with my Shun Shun Rikka… I'm just too cowardly to use it." She admitted. "I was hoping maybe you could train me to be more confident when I call upon him. He's only as powerful as my conviction and well…" She trailed sheepishly, "where I have no conviction to kill, you have mountain loads." Grimmjow gave her another uneasy look before snapping back into his usual haughty smirk.

"You think you could survive a training session with me?" He taunted, crossing his arms over his chest. Orihime suddenly remembered all the days he came back from the Espada Arena, covered in blood and bruises. She shuddered at the thought, but she had to remain strong.

"I can do it." She said, glad that she sounded more convinced than she felt.

"Well alright then," he drawled with a strange glint in his eyes. "Let's turn you into a cold-blooded killer."

* * *

When Grimmjow had told her that he was going to turn her into a cold-blooded killer, he clearly didn't mean right that second. Soon after he and Orihime had their chat, he spotted a servant walking down the hallway perpendicular to the one his room was situated and called for him to gather a cleaning crew to completely sanitize his room and take away any dead bodies. Orihime had returned her focus back to the healing of He-Cho and Wolken and had them back on their feet in about two hours. Unfortunately for the hallway guards, they had been blown to bits by ceros and no matter how hard she tried to surround them in her healing light, nothing would happen. Her heart squeezed painfully for them, though she had never met them.

When the revived guards had left the room, Orihime turned her rejection powers on Grimmjow's wall where the arrancar intruder had left a human-sized divot. Slowly but surely, the fragments on the floor the broken pieces on the wall began to reform.

"Hey if you can repair a wall with your abilities, you should be able to reform your own wall and move back in to your cell." Grimmjow snipped at her. He noticed that with the flood of adrenaline and excitement he got from fighting, his urge to coddle her had been almost completely eradicated. Before the unpleasant feelings came flooding back, he decided to not take for granted returning back to his old self.

"This is a dent, Grimmjow. You left a hole the size of a minivan in my wall. It would take days of constant rejection to repair." She retorted, feeling a strange pang in her heart when she realized he still wanted her gone. That shouldn't have bothered her as much as it did.

"And how is that my problem, Princess?" He snarled. He was such a child sometimes.

"Because YOU'RE the one who threw a cero at it!" She cried in exasperation. He had the memory of a goldfish. He just scoffed at her and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Let it go for now. You can fix the wall when we get back from training." He said as her eyes looked at him warily.

"You mean training starts now?" She asked. She had anticipated that they would start tomorrow, or the day after. She didn't realize she would begin Grimmjow's Bootcamp of Death and Destruction today!

"yOu MeAn TrAiNiNg StArTs ToDaY?" He mocked her. "Of course it does, woman. Now get changed and lets go." Orihime frowned at his ridiculous impression.

"This was my only dress…" She muttered, looking down at the shambles that were once a full-cover garment. Grimmjow huffed in exasperation and raked a hand through his hair. He crossed the floor to his bureau and threw open the doors. Before she knew it, a pair of crisp white hakama, a black obi sash and a sleeping yukata were flung at her.

"This should work." He said. She obediently retreated to the bathroom and stripped off her wasted dress. She went ahead and threw it in the small trash can under his sink. There was no way it could be salvaged and honestly, she wasn't going to put energy into rejecting the destruction of a dress that she hated. She realized in agony that her bra had been destroyed. There was no way she could train without chest support so she stuck her head out of the bathroom door to get Grimmjow's attention. Her face was the color of a cherry tomato and even worse, the cleaning crew had arrived to return his room to the way it was.

"H-hey Grimmjow…" She whispered, hoping only he would hear.

"What?" He snapped back, turning to face her. She smiled awkwardly and shifted her gaze to his bed.

"Can you… can you bring me the pink bra and underwear that are on the floor over there?" She asked sheepishly, her face getting even hotter than it was before. He walked over to the side of his bed and bent over to pick up the abused garments.

"These things?" He asked her unabashedly, not caring to be discreet as he held the scanty pieces of torn fabric up for inspection. A few members of the cleaning crew had caught on to what the strange human and Grimmjow were doing and they were not making it a secret that they were paying attention to the exchange. Orihime frantically nodded her head in affirmative at his question.

"They're destroyed, Princess. How the hell are you even going to wear them?" He asked. She wished more than anything that he would be more quiet, or just not ask questions at all. She grit her teeth and attempted to stop her face from getting so hot that it would spontaneously combust.

"It's okay just please bring them to me." She ground out in a desperate plea. Grimmjow smirked at her, understanding her clear discomfort. He held the underwear up and ran the tip of his tongue along the part that would normally be flush against the most private part of her body. Her eyes widened in disbelief and the lone female member of the cleaning crew fell to the floor with a loud thud, passed completely out. Orihime thought her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. What the… what was he doing? He stalked his way over to the bathroom door and handed her the violated, in more than one way, pair of underwear. Before handing over her lacy bra as well, he held up one of the generous cups and traced a finger around the flower designs. Initially, his eyes were on the delicate fabric in his hands but after a few seconds, his gaze lifted to lock with hers as he continued to touch the cup. Unable to breath as she watched his ministrations, she held a shaky hand up, asking wordlessly for her bra. He continued to smirk at her as he handed the torn garment to her obligingly. She snatched her clothes and retreated quickly into the privacy of his bathroom to reject the damage, regretting ever having asked him to retrieve her negligee for her.

Before she set about getting dressed, Orihime looked herself over in the mirror. She could see deep bruises forming on her breasts where that arrancar had attacked her. Luckily, he hadn't gotten too far in the abuse so rejecting the bruises was quick and easy, but could she reject the memory out of her mind like she did Grimmjow's dreams? She felt disgusting and defiled, the bruises on her looking more like stains than injuries. Her insides still felt sore from her attacker's probing finger. It felt like when you pulled out a dry tampon too fast. She cringed at the thought of what more would have felt like. This prompted her to jump in the shower to quickly wash her body, especially her feminine areas. He was so dirty from his time exiled in the Hueco Mundo desert and he had touched her… she felt the sudden urge to vomit but she held it in.

The hakama were much too large as she pulled the band up to the smallest part of her waist after she dried off from her brief shower. The pant legs had plenty of extra inches that drug the floor, so she began to roll the waist over itself multiple times to try to get them up a few inches. When she was satisfied with their length, she began to tuck in the too-long yukata, also having to fold over the ends so that it didn't pool on her midsection and make her look truly pregnant with all the excess fabric. To finish off her all-white ensemble, she tied the black obi sash around her- extra tight. She wanted to try to find her waist line in this sea of white linen. Stepping back from the mirror, she smiled at her reflection. If she had short black hair and dark brown eyes, she would have looked just like Tatsuki in her karate uniform, though Orihime's was much more ill-fitting than Tatsuki's well-tailored outfit. She thought she didn't look half bad though and decided these clothes would do. They were comfortable and breathed so well, much better than that suffocating dress did. Besides, they smelled intoxicating. She wrapped her arms around herself and inhaled the masculine scent, allowing herself a few more moments of bliss before she walked out of the bathroom to her doom. Training with the an Espada… what was she thinking?

* * *

Orihime had decided on the walk to the fighting arena that wearing Grimmjow's sleeping yukata as a shirt was a bad idea. The embroidered 6 on the chest was more like a cattle brand, proclaiming to all who passed the duo that she belonged to Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez... and notice they did. They had passed Szayel early on in their trek who stopped to remind them to come by his lab sometime that week to give a report on how the birth control he got her was working. He also asked Grimmjow if he wanted the same mixture as before. Grimmjow didn't notice the distracted looks Orihime was getting directed at her yukata from the Eighth as he told him to "add more cedar and cut back on the jasmine" because he smells "like a fucking bitch."

She realized the men had been talking about his shower products and she asked him about it as they walked away. Apparently, the shower products from the world of the living that all the other arrancar used were too acrid on his nose from the copious amounts of chemicals used. In return for him sending anyone or anything he kills to Szayel's laboratory for his cadaver stash, the pink-haired scientist would make him bath products in return. They cleaned him the way they should and didn't destroy his senses.

When they had passed a group of three young female arrancar, all of their eyes locked onto the black 6 immediately. They all groaned in disappointment that the handsome Espada was letting the stupid human wear his clothes and shot death glares at her. With that interaction, she could feel Grimmjow smirking at her side. What a pompous jerk.

The last interaction they had to suffer was none other than the Fifth Espada himself. He gave Orihime the creeps and his unbelievable height always left her dizzy when she looked up at him. Grimmjow towered over her already with her head only reaching his pectorals but even he looked small compared to Nnoitra.

"Awwwww…" He drawled with that rough voice. "What a nice yukata you have there, Pet. Where did you get it?" He asked with a smile so toothy and wide, Orihime thought his face could almost split in half.

"Fuck off, Spoon. No one asked you." Grimmjow shot back at him.

"Ooooo touchy, are we, kitten? Don't get upset with me just because you don't know how to take off someone's clothes without destroying them." His smile reduced to a smirk as his gaze focused in on Orihime. "Tell him to be more careful with you next time, Pet. You don't want him to hurt you, do you? Our Grimmy-kun doesn't really know how to be gentle."

"I told you, Nnoitra, go the fuck away or I'll knock every single one of your stupid teeth out." Grimmjow snarled as he clenched his fist, getting ready to attack.

"Only if you can reach my teeth, little one." He cooed. With a speed that shouldn't have been possible in any dimension, Grimmjow had leapt up and grabbed Nnoitra's black locks. With raw force, he pulled Nnoitra's head down to connect with his raised knee. The sound of his face making contact with Grimmjow's iron joint made a sick crunch. Just as Grimmjow had promised, multiple teeth and teeth fragments littered the floor of the hallway. Nnoitra whipped his head back and with eyes that Orihime could have sworn flashed red, he lunged at Grimmjow. Orihime called upon her Shun Shun Rikka and erected a barrier between the two livid Espada.

"That's enough." She said, trying to sound threatening, but failing miserably.

"Orihime stay out of this." Grimmjow yelled at her as Nnoitra prepared to crush the glowing wall.

"Grimmjow, we have training to do. Besides, you shouldn't let harmless words get you all in a tizzy." She reminded him. "Nnoitra, I understand you were in a joking mood but please don't forget that Grimmjow has a temper and your jokes were definitely out of line." She said, attempting to mediate between the two. She was afraid she had made them even more mad until Nnoitra's shoulders relaxed and Grimmjow crossed his arms over his chest. She smiled at the two, feeling like a proud mom who had successfully gotten her two kids to kiss and make up.

"Come here Nnoitra. I'll heal your mouth." She said to the lanky Espada.

"Wait what?" Grimmjow exclaimed in disbelief. "Only a second ago, he was mocking you, Orihime. Or did you forget?" She realized with disdain that Grimmjow was, indeed, almost more angry than he was before.

"None of what he said was true though, Grimmjow. I'm not going to let his immaturity get the best of me." She explained as the Fifth Espada grinned with bloody, broken teeth at the seething Sixth and made his way over to the small human. She raised her hands and called upon Shun'ou and Ayame. In about 5 minutes, Nnoitra's teeth were back to normal.

"Thanks, Pet." He purred at her as he turned to walk away. Silently, Orihime called upon Tsubaki who flew in between the shoulder blades of Nnoitra and began to slowly penetrate his skin. The tall arrancar yelped in pain as his slender arms flailed around him, trying to find the source of his discomfort.

"Oh and Nnoitra-sama." She called sweetly down the hallway to him. "You should try to be better behaved the next time you see me. Your manners could use a little improvement." She warned with a charming smile, channeling one of her favorite captains in the Soul Society, Retsu Unohana. She recalled Tsubaki as Grimmjow rewarded her with a confused, yet approving glance.

"That was weird." He said simply as he picked her up by the waist and did what he should have done from his door- sonido'd to the arena.

* * *

Well this was it. For the second time today, Orihime Inoue was a goner.

"Ground your feet and maintain your balance or you will fucking die!" Grimmjow yelled at her as the force of his sword hitting her shield threw her to the sandy floor of the arena.

"How will you counter my attack and protect your worthless friends if you're laying on the ground?" He continued, flying at her again with his sword raised above his head. In a frantic and desperate attempt at protecting herself, she once again called upon her fairies to form another shield. This one shattered easily just like the others and if Grimmjow didn't pull Pantera back, she would have been sliced in two. Her breathing was labored and she was beyond frustrated. This was going terribly.

"Get the hell up, Princess." He spat at her as he sheathed his sword. She stumbled to her feet and looked at the ground, ashamed of her own weakness. He hadn't even broken a sweat, this was child's play to him. She was nothing but a little bug beneath his pristine white sandals. Pantera was even fighting against his master as he came at her, being opposed to training his desired mate in such a violent way though he had reluctantly given Grimmjow permission when he was asked. Before Grimmjow had placed his zanpakuto on Orihime's bare stomach to allow the sword to see that there truly wasn't a baby inside, they didn't think he would relinquish his hold on the Espada member. It was a miracle this seemingly futile action proved once and for all to his instincts that she was not with child and in fine condition to train.

"It seems like we need to start from the very beginning. You are an infant who hasn't even figured out how to crawl. You have no stamina, no strength, no balance, no instincts, no technique, nothing." He emphasized the last word. Orihime felt a lump form in her throat. She would not cry. She would NOT cry.

"I can smell the salt, woman. You better not start crying in this damn arena. This is a place for warriors, not children." She swallowed hard and allowed his words to temper her. She hardened her gaze and found the courage to look at him. He was right. She had nothing, but he could build her into something. He was harsh and honest, but she needed that. Her whole life, she had been protected, lied to, pandered to, coddled. She needed someone who would break her down and build her back up. She could withstand this. He wouldn't let her fail.

"Where should I start, sensei?" She asked as if she were a private in the army. Grimmjow smirked at her and broke into a sonido. She stared after him, confused as to why he left. That is, until he returned with a perfectly round log.

"Stand on this." He said as he tossed it to the ground at her feet. It wasn't very tall, about a foot in diameter. She smiled a little, perfectly confident in this first task. She placed her first foot on the apex of the log, allowing her sandal to wrap around it and find her sweet spot so that she could bring up her other foot. When she felt ready, she adjusted her weight to accommodate the other foot and immediately, the log spun underneath her and she fell pathetically to her rear on the hard packed-dirt ground. With a grunt, she got back up, rubbing her bottom to try to bring some feeling back into it. She looked up to find Grimmjow with a hand on his face. He drug it down as he muttered "We have a long ass way to go."

* * *

After Orihime had completed the first task and finally stood on the log, Grimmjow sat down on the ground and told her to remain in that position for 30 minutes. She gaped at him as the log became unsteady under her feet.

"30 minutes?! Are you insane?" She asked, flustered at the enormous job ahead of her. She wondered again why she was doing this but when she remembered the terror of what happened earlier, she bit her lip, sucked it up and put all her focus on getting that log to steady itself. She closed her eyes and forced herself to feel the log, to understand and predict it's movements.

"Tighten your core and your ass." A gruff voice said across from her. Her eyes fluttered open as she realized his voice was now above her and not below. Grimmjow stood across from her, balanced and completely still on his own log with his hands in his pockets. It was as if he were standing on solid ground. 'When did he go get that?' she wondered to herself.

"You think 30 minutes is insane?" He asked, watching her feet as they jerked back and forth, desperately trying to find some balance.

"Your new task is to stay on your log as long as I can stay on mine." He said simply, locking eyes with her.

"How long can you stand on a log?" She asked softly, dread filling her entire being. Never breaking eye contact, Grimmjow lifted his right foot into a pointed position and slightly bent the knee of the left leg that was still standing on the log. He raised his arms as well, his palms facing down and in. He looked like a snake ready to strike or like a monk in one of those old martial arts movies. Orihime was taken aback by the finesse and grace that she never expected him to have.

"How long do you think?" He asked haughtily. In a half a second, he slightly jumped up, switching his feet so that now he was standing on his right foot and the left was lifted. The log remained perfectly still. Orihime wanted to cry. She was still one errant breeze away from eating dirt.

"Forever." She croaked in agony. Her abs and butt were burning. She didn't know how much longer she could remain on this stupid log.

"Balance on the balls of your feet. There's too much variation in your weight dispersion when you try to balance flat-footed." He instructed. Orihime gulped and tightened her abs and butt more as she attempted to shift her weight from her arches to the firm pad beneath her toes. She leaned forward slightly to accommodate the new sensation and finally was able to lift herself into a full-standing position. A smile lit up her face and she giggled triumphantly.

"Grimmjow, I'm doing it!" She proclaimed as the log steadied beneath her. She was still slightly shaky due to her underdeveloped muscles but she knew that if she continued this, she would one day be able to stand solidly for an extended period of time. He smirked at her.

"Okay, now that you have mastered the position, we will stay like this for 30 minutes." Orihime wanted to sob but she slowly nodded her head up and down, willing her body to cooperate.

"Yes, sensei!" She chanted, hoping if she at least acted positive, she could maybe do it.

* * *

Orihime had lasted 17 minutes before she collapsed to the ground. Grimmjow groaned and lithely leapt from his own log. Never one to miss an opportunity to train himself or show off, Grimmjow was going to complete the final 15 minutes by balancing on the log in a one-handed handstand, switching between his hands to get both sides working. To his chagrin, his time inverted was cut down to a measly 2 minutes before the girl finally gave up and once again, fell to the ground.

"Well, you made it a whopping 17 minutes. I guess you could have done worse." He said as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, sweat dappling her flushed face.

"I'll keep trying my best, Grimmjow-sensei." She said pathetically between gasps. He rolled his eyes and sat down next to her.

"Take 5 minutes. I wanna know what this power of yours is. Is it what you used on Nnoitra earlier?" He asked, leaning back on his hands as he stared up into Aizen's artificially sunny sky.

"Yes, that was Tsubaki. He's the offensive element to my Shun Shun Rikka." She explained, finally beginning to catch her breath.

"Why didn't you use him against Gerardo earlier?" Grimmjow asked. He had many questions, but he figured this one was the most pertinent.

"I was scared." She admitted. "When I'm scared or I hesitate, Tsubaki can't work at his best. His attack becomes weak when I hesitate. I was scared that if I tried to send him after Gerardo that I would hesitate and Tsubaki would get injured or killed and that Gerardo would get even more mad and hurt me worse than he already was." Grimmjow looked at her with a weird mixture of anger and pity.

"Why weren't you pissed the hell off?" He asked. "If I were in your position and had any sort of attack I could use, I would have blown his head off." Orihime looked so intensely at Grimmjow in that moment that he could have sworn she was staring into his soul.

"That's why I'm here with you right now. I don't want to second-guess myself anymore. I want to be strong… Like you." She said, a light breeze blowing her chestnut locks around her slender shoulders. Grimmjow maintained eye contact for a few seconds longer before sighing and looking back up at the sky.

"You said this guy's name is Tsubaki, right?" He asked suddenly.

"Y-yeah." Orihime answered, wondering why he cared.

"So he's like a zanpakuto spirit?"

"Kind of. I guess you could see it that way."

"So he can manifest?" Grimmjow asked.

"Yes if I call upon him."

"Well damn why am I talking to you? Bring him out." Grimmjow commanded brusquely. Orihime hesitated a moment before placing a finger on her hair pins.

"Tsubaki, can we talk?" She asked aloud, closing her eyes. Suddenly, a golden glow like the one she used to heal darted from one of her hair pins and landed in her upturned palm. The light faded down to reveal a tiny man with black, spiky hair and a bandana covering his mouth. His tiny body was covered in a black and red jumpsuit and he was positively….. ridiculous, Grimmjow had decided. He began to laugh maniacally.

"This-" He gasped. "This is your offensive technique?" Orihime could feel Tsubaki growing dangerously hot in her hand as he flew up into the air, landed on Grimmjow's nose, and kicked him directly in the eye.

With a yelp that probably could have been heard all over Las Noches, Grimmjow's hand flew up to his face and his eye squeezed shut in pain. Orihime covered the smile that was slowly stretching across her face as she heard Tsubaki's howl of laughter.

"What the hell? So he uses cheap shots to get the job done?" Grimmjow whined as he rolled over and laid out on his stomach, still holding his offended eye.

"Don't judge an opponent based on his size, jackass!" Tsubaki yelled at Grimmjow from his original position perched on Orihime's palm. Grimmjow jumped up and pointed a finger at the tiny fairy.

"What the hell are you anyway?" He yelled accusingly.

"I am Tsubaki, Orihime's one and only direct attack ability. She can call upon me by saying the incantation "Koten Zanshun"." The tiny creature explained proudly as his nose lifted into the air and he crossed his arms over his chest. Grimmjow approached Orihime again and sat in front of her hand.

"You're pretty scrappy, I'll give you that." Grimmjow said bitterly. "But what the hell do you do anyway? What did you do to that Espada you attacked earlier?" Orihime watched Grimmjow with amusement as his curiosity began to get the better of him.

"I have the ability to split any material in half. I first burrow my way into the target and then when I get in the middle, I erect two shields that split the victim in half, rejecting its existence. With the weird guy earlier, I was only burrowing. It was just meant to be a warning." He stated, Grimmjow's eyes were full of guarded wonder as he considered the implications of such an attack.

"You do realize that Nnoitra has the hardest hierro out of all the arrancar, Espada included, don't you?" Grimmjow asked, finding it hard to believe Orihime's little fairy had the ability to cause so much pain to someone like the Fifth Espada with only a "warning".

"I didn't actually, because cutting through him was like cutting through butter. If Orihime wanted to kill him, he would be gone." Tsubaki said. Grimmjow's eyebrows ticked a little higher, he couldn't completely hide his surprise.

"So theoretically, Orihime could split in half anything she wanted." The arrancar stated.

"Whatever she wanted, as long as she truly wants it." Tsubaki confirmed, glaring up at her with the last part of his statement.

"Okay so if Orihime wanted to split the moon in half, you could fly up there and take it down?" Grimmjow asked theoretically again.

"At her current level, I'm lucky to split an orange. If she becomes stronger and gets some balls, maybe one day I could split the moon if she asked it of me." Tsubaki stated, causing even Orihime to look at him with disbelief.

"So her power is in her will." Grimmjow said.

"Correct. The stronger Orihime feels about what she's attacking, the more powerful my attack can be. Once she hesitates or regrets though, I'm toast and she has nothing." Orihime's eyes darted back to the dirt, pain filling the grey depths.

"What can we do to make her stronger?" Grimmjow asked gruffly, realizing the momentous task ahead of them.

"She has to find resolve. She has to know what she wants to protect and she has to be willing to forsake everything else to protect it. She has to understand her value and know deep within her that not only is she worth protecting, but she has the ability to do it herself. She doesn't need anyone or anything but herself and her resolve." Tsubaki instructed, crossing his arms over his chest again.

"Tsubaki." Grimmjow addressed the tiny creature. Orihime was shocked he remembered her fairy's name.

"Yes?" The little man responded.

"Would you be willing to train with us everyday? Would you manifest for reasons other than true battle to help Orihime get stronger?" Grimmjow asked sternly. He was asking, but it was just a nicety. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. The sprite met his glare and smirked.

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

AN: I'm going to wait to do review responses until I post part 2 of this chapter since I just posted earlier today! Thank you so much for reading, love you all!


	9. Chapter 9

Collateral Damage pt. 2

It had only been a week of daily three-hour training sessions, and two of those had been purely dedicated to improving her balance. There was no way she was ready for what Grimmjow was threatening to come. Orihime knew she had definitely become stronger. In the past seven days, she had undergone a nearly complete transformation with unorthodox, yet intensely effective workouts. However, she knew this was folly. She knew her still somewhat underdeveloped shield could not withstand the devastating power of Grimmjow's Gran Rey Cero.

Yet here she was, staring the blinding blue blast of vaporizing energy into its very core. As it rapidly approached her, it turned a brilliant shade of lime green as her panic-induced golden shield distorted its breathtaking glory.

"Squeeze your ass and stand your ground, Princess, or you'll be incinerated!" Grimmjow managed to yell at her before the overpowered cero mercilessly slammed into her Shun Shun Rikka. Tears slid out of Orihime's eyes as the heat of the energy surrounded her. It was as if she had been thrown into an oven. She was going to be cooked alive. Nothing but her sheer will to live and the newfound strength in her glutes and core were allowing her arms to take on more pressure than they should have ever been able to. She could barely open a jar of pickles, now it felt as if she were trying to push back a tsunami of fire.

Before that miraculous strength she found herself possessing could give out, the blue terror was gone.

She had done it.

Orihime had survived a Gran Rey Cero.

Before she could even register the significance of what she had just accomplished, a ringing filled her ears and her vision abruptly went black. The last thing she felt was the side of her face hitting hard, packed dirt.

* * *

Grimmjow watched the young woman sputter as a miniature waterfall cascaded from his canteen over her face. He was mildly amused and admittedly, highly impressed. Orihime had only been working on her balance and core strength for a week now and she had already withstood the blunt force of a half-powered Gran Rey Cero. That amount of pressure easily should have knocked her to her ass. Grimmjow had been prepared to withdraw the cero as soon as he felt it hit her shield, figuring it would shatter on impact. However, as he realized she was holding her own, he allowed her to maintain her barrier for a full five seconds and only pulled back when he felt it shudder under the pressure of his barrage. To an onlooker, it would seem only an infinitesimal amount of time to defend oneself but for the victim of the cero, it most likely seemed a lifetime. He rolled his eyes as he felt his inner panther purr happily with pride.

'_Oh yes, she will produce strong and healthy cubs. I knew she was worthy.'_

'_Shut the hell up, Pantera. That was nothing.'_

'_You and I both know that was not nothing, Grimmjow.' _

"Wait, I'm alive?" A small, gravely voice bubbled below him, pulling him from his inner dialogue.

"Your shield not only withstood the cero, but it almost wrapped around you completely. See? I told you I could make you stronger." He told her, smirking as he placed fisted hands on his hips. He thoroughly enjoyed taking Ichigo's woman and molding her into his own creation. By the time that stupid orange haired moron saw her again, she would be a completely different person for the better. Grimmjow couldn't wait to see his face when he realized it was all thanks to the Sixth Espada. The blue-haired arrancar's amusement grew as he watched Orihime's shocked face split into the purest, warmest grin he had possibly ever seen.

"Are you kidding me?" She gushed, putting fisted hands to her cheeks. "I did it? I survived a cero?" She squealed, animatedly pulling herself into a sitting position on her knees.

"Well you're breathing, aren't you?" Grimmjow scoffed at her.

"Let's keep training!" She requested, throwing a fist of victory into the air and raising to her slightly unsteady feet.

"Let's finish off the day with some balance work. As you just proved, the most powerful element of your Shun Shun Rikka should be your defence- your shield. Tomorrow we'll have a session with Tsubaki but realistically, your best bet at survival will be keeping yourself in one piece." Grimmjow instructed as he tossed her usual log at her. He watched her mount it, this time with ease. He felt the corner of his mouth twitch up for a split second in an unauthorized smirk, though he quickly put an end to that and resumed his stoic expression.

"Right foot." He instructed, watching her precariously raise her left foot into the air. She wobbled for a moment, but found her balance quicker than he anticipated she would.

"Balance is the most crucial skill to master before building a strong defence. If you can't keep your feet under you and find your center, any attempt at thwarting an enemy will be in vain." He watched a small drop of sweat fall from her hairline and slide down her cheek. The bead of moisture left a tantalizing trail below her jaw and down into the split of the yukata.

"This is why as long as you are here, we will build up your core, your glutes and your legs. Your focus will also be honed. I notice you don't have a surplus of that so we will work on it." This time, he allowed himself to smirk as she huffed and stuck a small, pink tongue out at him. Oh yes, she was slowly but surely growing a backbone that would undoubtedly take Kurosaki by surprise.

...

"_Oooonna no ko hajimemashita _

_Tameiki wa vioron no-"_

"What the fuck is that?" Grimmjow snapped at the young woman. She had only been balancing for 7 minutes so far and she was already so bored that she was singing?

"It's the theme song for Kamisama Kiss!" She chirped. "That's what goes on in my head when I need to focus, otherwise I think too much." She explained.

"Well keep it in your damn head. I don't even need to hear the original to know that that is the most annoying song ever made." He said, falling to the ground to find a comfortable position to lounge as he waited 30 minutes for Orihime's balance work to end. When the stop-watch finally announced 10 minutes had gone by, an idea popped into his head.

"Switch legs." He coached. She obediently did as she was told. After this 10 minutes was over, she was going to regret the day she was born.

* * *

Watching Grimmjow bring over the log he typically used for his own balance work, Orihime knew she was in for some new fresh hell of a workout.

"Get off that log, you're switching positions." He grumbled as he placed the second log down a few feet away from the one she was currently dismounting.

"For your last 10 minutes, you will balance with your hands on this log and your feet on the other in a plank position. This will activate nearly every muscle in your body, especially your core." He said. All the color drained from Orihime's face. This was suicide. Surely this time would mean her demise. Surely this was it for her.

However, instead of moaning and complaining, she swallowed her fears and lowered herself to the ground. She placed one hand on the log beneath her shoulders and placed one foot on the one at her ankles. Once she felt secure enough on both logs, she pushed up to get her other hand and foot beneath her.

Sweet God, it BURNED.

It had only been .5 seconds and she already wanted to scream. So she did. Well, it sounded more like when a dog whined.

"What's wrong, Princess? Having some trouble?" He asked her wickedly, knowing all too well how impossible this workout would be for anyone who wasn't used to the strain… or inhuman.

"I-I… oh my God, Grimmjow. Where d- where did you even learn something like th-this?" She asked through gasps of pain and exertion.

"Everything I'm putting you through is the same training I did in preparation to take my dad's place as shogun. I was an actual samurai before I died, you know." He said condescendingly. He smirked as the logs suddenly rolled beneath her shaking arms and legs, causing the small girl to fall into a sweat-drenched heap on the dirt.

"It burns…" She whispered into the ground as she went into fetal position. Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"If it's easy, it's not working." He said simply, nudging her with his foot. "Get up and get back on."

Orihime looked up at him with dread in her eyes.

"How long could you plank on the logs when you first started?" She asked him, hopeful for a story of struggle turning into triumph.

"I was…" Grimmjow trailed off as he glanced into the sky, deep in thought. "I think five when I started balance training, since swordsmanship started at seven. I could plank on logs for just under nine minutes straight starting out and got up to over 30 minutes in about a month. Once I was older, I could go indefinitely but I would always get bored after an hour or so."

Alright, Orihime thought to herself. So long story short, a five year old was in better shape than she was at nearly 16. That's great.

Orihime ended up being able to go the full 10 minutes but it was cut up into roughly 20 reps of 30-second spurts with plenty of whimpering between. It was the worst pain she had ever felt and she knew if it weren't for her Shun Shun Rikka, her body would be so sore tomorrow that she wouldn't be able to get out of bed. Her numb and trembling body was lifted into the air by Grimmjow as he tucked her safely into his arms before sonido'ing off towards his quarters. The artificial sun made it seem like it was mid-day, but she knew that it was really more around 7:00pm and the thought of her dinner waiting for her in Grimmjow's quarters made her stomach rumble with impatience.

…

To Orihime's delight, the slim figure of Nenna could be seen closing the door to Grimmjow's quarters as their quick journey from the Arena came to an end.

"Hi Nenna! Is it time for dinner?" Orihime asked excitedly from her place, elevated in Grimmjow's strong arms.

"Yes Miss Inoue, I have left your meal on Mr. Jaegerjaquez's coffee table." The female arrancar said with a soft smile.

"You're showering before you get anywhere near my couch, Princess. You smell like a sweaty sock." Grimmjow muttered as he placed her on her aching feet. His gripe wasn't exactly the truth- she smelled like a goddess. The musky sweetness of her false pregnancy hormones mingled with the warm saltiness of her perspiration and the aroma made his head spin, like it did after every session they had this week. It had gotten to the point where getting her showered couldn't happen quickly enough. The young woman only giggled as she stumbled clumsily to his door that had been reopened by the servant.

"Fine, fine." She said with a sigh. "Thank you for bringing dinner, Nenna!" With a curt nod of her head, Nenna turned and walked briskly down the hall, leaving the Espada alone with the small woman.

Orihime busied herself with taking the quickest shower she could manage. The cramping in her completely empty stomach made her feel almost nauseous. She was shocked by how much more she had to eat when she exerted herself like this everyday. The young woman vowed to continue working out if she ever made it out of Hueco Mundo- she truly enjoyed being able to eat mountains of food without the fear of gaining weight and the slight raising of her stomach muscles into softly sculpted abs was a reminder of how strong and useful she was becoming.

When she exited the bathroom, donned in a fresh sleeping yukata and a pair of black socks, she wasn't surprised to find Grimmjow sprawled across his couch. What surprised her was that the hollow seemed to almost be sleeping. Grimmjow rarely napped...

"You're not tired are you?" Orihime asked sweetly as she perched in one of his armchairs, pulling the silver-lidded plate closer to where she sat. Grimmjow's eyes remained closed, but his scowl deepened.

"It's hard work having to manage the power of my ceros like that." He grumbled, turning his back to her.

"What do you mean?" Orihime asked as she grabbed a large hunk of her steamed rice with the silver chopsticks.

"Usually I just let them fly full blast but with you, I have to be careful." He explained, his voice slightly muffled by the couch cushion.

"Oh…" She whispered, slightly disappointed. "So that cero you sent at me earlier… that wasn't a full Gran Rey Cero?"

"Of course not, idiot. You wouldn't be sitting here right now if it were." He snapped. She couldn't see his face, but she knew he was rolling his eyes as he usually did. Her heart sank realizing she wasn't as powerful as she had thought earlier . A lump formed in her throat as she realized she was still just a weak little girl.

"Damnit Orihime, don't you dare cry." The blue-haired Espada grumbled from his spot on the couch. He turned from his side to his back and glared over at her with a jerk of his head.

"You shouldn't have been able to withstand it. Even a half-powered Gran Rey Cero is completely devastating. Only Espadas one through five could survive one of my full Gran Reys and that's why they're ranked above me." Grimmjow was shocked that his half-assed explanation caused the salty scent of her impending tears to immediately vanish. He hated that the smile suddenly beaming from her pretty face made his heart warm. He hated the overwhelming desire to protect that smile no matter the cost.

"I want to be useful more than anything, Grimmjow. I'm happy knowing that I'm becoming stronger. I always feel so ashamed and guilty when Ichigo is in a fight and he has to worry about me the whole time. I just want to not be a burden to him anymore… or to you." She admitted as her proud grin relaxed into a small smile.

"Whatever you do, if you're ever around me while I'm fighting, put up your barrier. We've gotten it strong enough that should I get a little out of control, it should save you at least once before shattering. Then you immediately put it up again, okay?"

Orihime nodded. She never wanted to be in the way or a burden and she knew that if she was weak, she could get someone killed for trying to protect her. Grimmjow was right, her strongest ability should be her barrier. She was so thankful to him for the hours he spent building her up that she couldn't put her gratitude into words. It was because of him that she wouldn't have to spend the rest of her life a sitting duck. She could protect not only herself, but those she loved.

_Those she loved…_ Orihime gazed softly upon the relaxing arrancar. Her eyes traced the beautiful planes of his refined face and the broad expanse of his muscled torso. She closed her eyes and pictured Kurosaki-kun.

_Those she loved…_

She loved Kurosaki-kun, right? This young man she was envisioning with the baby face, the cinnamon-colored eyes, the wild carrot top… This was the man she loved, right?

Her eyes opened again, the warm-tones of her vision of Ichigo and his brown and orange being soothed by the cool hues of Grimmjow's variations of blue. She didn't realize his piercing eyes had opened while hers were shut, allowing him to gaze upon her as well. Her soft silver met his bright cobalt.

_Those she loved…_ she allowed the thought to slip from her mind as she found herself happily drowning in pools of blue.

* * *

AN: Sad there wasn't any room for fluff in this (comparatively) quick chapter. Please please PLEASE excuse my absence. Life got in the way of my true love- writing. I'm back now though and so excited for the next chapter because where this one falls short in the romantic category, the next one will absolutely make up for it. I hope y'all are ready for a lemon - uh oh no she didn't ~ Also, I fucking love the Kamisama Kiss theme song, I just know Grimmjow would HATE it hahahaha


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